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HISTORY OF THE SIKHS, 

Jrirra \\t ©rip mf tire |fatura 


TO THE BATTLES OF THE SUTLEJ. 


by 


JOSEPH DAYEY CUNNINGHAM, 

LATE CAPTAIN OF ENGINEERS IN THE INDIAN ARMY. 


SECOND EDITION. 

WITH THE AUTHOR’S LAST CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 



LONDON: 

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 

1853. 
























«*• 

*• 





• ). 















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4*7 

ADVERTISEMENT 

TO 

THE PRESENT EDITION. 


The sheets of this Edition were seen and corrected 
by their Author, and were ready for publication 
several months previous to his death, in February, 
1851. The reasons—of a painful, though temporary 
character—for the delay in the appearance of the 
work will be found in a Memoir already written 
and to be published hereafter, when regard for the 
living will * no longer interfere with the truth of 
History. 

The author fell a victim to the truth related in this 
book. He wrote History in advance of his time, and 
suffered for it; but posterity will, I feel assured, do 
justice to his memory. 

My brother’s anxiety to be correct was evinced in 
the unceasing labour he took to obtain the most mi¬ 
nute information. Wherever he has been proved to be 
wrong,—and this has been in very few instances,— he 
has, with ready frankness, admitted and corrected his 
error. In matters of opinion he made no change — 

A 3 



VI 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


not from obstinacy, but from a firm conviction that 
he was right. 

The new notes to this Edition are distinguished by 
square brackets; some contain information of moment, 
contributed by Lord Gough, Sir Charles Napier, and 
others, and all received my brother’s sanction. 

The printed materials for the recent History of 
India are not of that character on which historians 
can rely. State Papers, presented to the people by 
“ both Houses of Parliament,” have been altered to 
suit the temporary views of political warfare, or 
abridged out of mistaken regard to the tender feelings 
of survivors. * In matters of private life, some ten¬ 
derness may be shown to individual sensitiveness, 
but History, to be of any value, should be written by 
one superior to the influences of private or personal 
feelings. What Gibbon calls “ truth, naked, un¬ 
blushing truth, the first virtue of more serious his¬ 
tory,” should alone direct the pen of the historian; 
and truth alone influenced the mind and guided the 
pen of the Author of this book. 

Peter Cunningham. 


Kensington, 18 th January , 1853. 


* The character and career of Alexander Burnes have both been misre¬ 
presented in those collections of State Papers which are supposed to furnish the 
best materials of history, but which are often only one-sided compilations of 
garbled documents, — counterfeits, which the ministerial stamp forces into cur¬ 
rency, defrauding a present generation, and handing down to posterity a chain 
of dangerous lies. — Kaye, Affghanistan ii. 13. 


AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


TO 

THE SECOND EDITION. 


In this Second Edition the Author has made some 
alterations in the text of the last chapter, where it 
seemed that his readers had inferred more than was 
meant; but the sense and spirit of what was originally 
written have been carefully preserved, notwithstand¬ 
ing the modifications of expression now introduced. 
Throughout the grammatical imperfections detected 
on reperusal have been removed ; but no other changes 
have been made in the text of the first eight chap¬ 
ters. Some notes, however, altogether new, have been 
added, while others have been extended; and such as 
by their length crowded a series of pages, and from 
their subject admitted of separate treatment, have 
been formed into Appendices. 

The Author’s principal object in writing this his¬ 
tory has not always been understood, and he there¬ 
fore thinks it right to say that his main endeavour 
w r as to give Sikhism its place in the general history 
of humanity, by showing its connection with the dif¬ 
ferent creeds of India, by exhibiting it as a natural 
and important result of the Mahometan Conquest, 



viii author’s preface 

and by impressing upon the people of England the 
great necessity of attending to the mental changes 
now in progress amongst their subject millions in the 
East, who are erroneously thought to be sunk in 
superstitious apathy, or to be held spell-bound in 
ignorance by a dark and designing priesthood. A 
secondary object of the Author’s was to give some ac¬ 
count of the connection of the English with the Sikhs, 
and in part with the Afghans, from the time they 
began to take a direct interest in the affairs of these 
races, and to involve them in the web of their policy 
for opening the navigation of the Indus, and for 
bringing Toorkist4n and Khorass&n within their com¬ 
mercial influence. 

It has also been remarked by some public critics and 
private friends, that the Author leans unduly towards 
the Sikhs, and that an officer in the Indian army 
should appear to say he sees aught unwise or objec¬ 
tionable in the acts of the East India Company and 
its delegates is at the least strange. The Author 
has, indeed, constantly endeavoured to keep his 
readers alive to that under current of feeling or 
principle which moves the Sikh peoplec ollectively, 
and which will usually rise superior to the crimes or 
follies of individuals. It was the history of Sikhs , 
a new and peculiar nation, which he wished to make 
known to strangers ; and he saw no reason for contin¬ 
ually recurring to the duty or destiny of the English 
in India, because he was addressing himself to his 
own countrymen who know the merits and motives of 
their supremacy in the East, and who can themselves 
commonly decide whether the particular acts of a 
viceroy are in accordance with the general policy of 


TO THE SECOND EDITION. 


IX 


his government. The Sikhs, moreover, are so inferior 
to the English in resources and knowledge that there 
is no equality of comparison between them. 

The glory to England is indeed great of her Eastern 
Dominion, and she may justly feel proud of the in¬ 
creasing excellence of her sway over subject nations; 
but this general expression of the sense and desire of 
the English people does not show that every proceed¬ 
ing of her delegates is necessarily fitting and farsee- 
mg. The wisdom of England is not to be measured 
by the views and acts of any one of her sons, but is 
rather to be deduced from the characters of many. In 
India it is to be gathered in part from the high, but 
not always scrupulous, qualities which distinguished 
Clive, Hastings, and Wellesley, who acquired and 
secured the Empire; in part from the generous, but 
not always discerning, sympathies of Burke, Corn¬ 
wallis, and Bentinck, who gave to English rule the 
stamp of moderation and humanity; and also in part 
from the ignorant well-meaning of the people at 
large, who justly deprecating ambition in the abstract 
vainly strive to check the progress of conquest before 
its necessary limits have been attained, and before the 
aspiring energies of the conquerors themselves have 
become exhausted. By conquest, I would be under¬ 
stood to imply the extension of supremacy, and not 
the extinction of dynasties, for such imperial form of 
domination should be the aim and scope of English 
sway in the East. England should reign over kings 
rather than rule over subjects. 

The Sikhs and the English are each irresistibly 
urged forward in their different ways and degrees 
towards remote and perhaps diverse ends: the 


X 


author's preface. 


Sikhs, as the leaders of a congenial mental change ; 
the English, as the promoters of rational law and 
material wealth; and individual chiefs and rulers 
can merely play their parts in the great social move¬ 
ments with more or less of effect and intelligence. 
Of the deeds and opinions of these conspicuous men, 
the Author has not hesitated to speak plainly but 
soberly, whether in praise or dispraise, and he trusts 
he may do both, without either idly flattering or 
malignantly traducing his country, and also with¬ 
out compromising his own character as a faithful 
and obedient servant of the State; — for the soldiers 
of India are no longer mere sentinels over bales of 
goods, nor is the East India Company any longer a 
private association of traffickers which can with reason 
object to its mercantile transactions being subjected 
to open comment by one of its confidential factors. 
The merits of the administration of the East India 
Company are many and undoubted; but its constitu¬ 
tion is political, its authority is derivative, and every 
Englishman has a direct interest in the proceedings 
of his Government; while it is likewise his Country’s 
boast that her children can at fitting times express in 
calm and considerate language their views of her 
career, and it is her duty to see that those to whom 
she entrusts power rightly understand both their own 
position and her functions. 


2 5th October , 1849. 


PREFACE 


TO 

THE FIRST EDITION* 


One who possesses no claims to systematic scholar¬ 
ship, and who nevertheless asks the public to approve 
of his labors in a field of some difficulty, is bound 
to show to his readers that he has at least had fair 
means of obtaining accurate information and of coming 
to just conclusions. 

Towards the end of the year 1837, the Author re¬ 
ceived, through the unsolicited favour of Lord Auck¬ 
land, the appointment of assistant to Colonel Wade, the 
political agent at Loodiana, and the officer in charge 
of the British relations with the Punjab and the 
chiefs of Afghanistan. He was at the same time re¬ 
quired as an engineer officer, to render Peerozpoor a 
defensible post, that little place having been declared 
a feudal escheat, and its position being regarded as 
one of military importance. His plans for effecting 
the object in view met the approval of Sir Henry 
Fane, the Commander-in-Chief; but it was not eventu¬ 
ally thought proper to do more than cover the town 
with a slight parapet, and the scheme for reseating 
Shah Shooja on his throne seemed at the time to 
make the English and Sikh Governments so wholly 
one, that the matter dropped, and Feerozpoor was 
* Published in 1 vol. 8vo. 19th March, 1849. 



Xll 


PREFACE. 


allowed to become a cantonment with scarcely the 
means at hand of saving its ammunition from a few 
predatory horse. 

The Author was also present at the interview 
which took place in 1838, between Runjeet Singh and 
Lord Auckland. In 1839 he accompanied Shahzada 
Tymoor and Colonel Wade to Peshawur, and he was 
with them when they forced the Pass of Khyber, and 
laid open the road to Caubul. In 1840 he was 
placed in administrative charge of the district of 
Loodiana; and towards the end of the same year, he 
was deputed by the new frontier agent, Mr. Clerk, 
to accompany Colonel Shelton and his relieving 
brigade to Peshawur, whence he returned with the 
troops escorting Dost Mahomed Khan under Colonel 
Wheeler. During part of 1841 he was in magisterial 
charge of the Feerozpoor district, and towards the 
close of that year, he was appointed—on the recom¬ 
mendation again of Mr. Clerk — to proceed to Tibet 
to see that the ambitious Rajas of Jummoo surrendered 
certain territories which they had • seized from the 
Chinese of Lassa, and that the British trade with 
Ludakh, &c. was restored to its old footing. He re¬ 
turned at the end of a year, and was present at the 
interviews between Lord Ellenborough and Dost 
Mahomed at Loodiana, and between his lordship and 
the Sikh chiefs at Feerozpoor in December 1842. 
During part of 1843 he was in civil charge of Am- 
bala; but from the middle of that year till towards 
the close of 1844, he held the post of personal assist¬ 
ant to Colonel Richmond, the successor of Mr. Clerk. 
After Major Broadfoot’s nomination to the same office, 
and during the greater part of 1845, the Author was 


PREFACE. 


xiii 

employed in the Buhawulpoor territory in connection 
with refugee Sindhians, and with boundary disputes 
between the Daoodpotras and the Rajpoots of Beeka- 
meer and Jeyselmeer. When war with the Sikhs 
broke out, the Author was required by Sir Charles 
Napier to join his army of co-operation; but after the 
battle of Pheeroosliuhur, he was summoned to Lord 
Gough's Head Quarters. He was subsequently directed 
to accompany Sir Harry Smith, when a diversion was 
made towards Loodiana, a?nd he was thus present at the 
skirmish of Buddowal and at the battle of Aleewal. 
He had likewise the fortune to be a participator in 
the victory of Subraon, and the further advantage of 
acting on that important day as an aide-de-camp to 
the Governor-General. He was then attached to the 
head quarters of the Commander-in-Chief, until the 
army broke up at Lahore, when he accompanied Lord 
Hardinge’s camp to the Simlah Hills, preparatory to 
setting out for Bhopal, the political agency in which 
state and its surrounding districts, his lordship had 
unexpectedly been pleased to bestow upon him. 

The Author was thus living among the Sikh people 
for a period of eight years, and during a very im¬ 
portant portion of their history. He had intercourse, 
under every variety of circumstances, with all classes 
of men, and he had at the same time free access to all 
the public records bearing on the affairs of the fron¬ 
tier. It was after being required in 1844, to draw 
up reports on the British connection generally with 
the states on the Sutlej, and especially on the military 
resources of the Punjab, that he conceived the idea, 
and felt he had the means, of writing the history which 
he now offers to the public. 


XIV 


PREFACE. 


The Author’s residence in Malwa has been bene¬ 
ficial to him in many ways personally; and it has also 
been of advantage in the composition of this work, as 
he has had the opportunity of becoming acquainted 
with the ideas and modes of life of the military 
colonies of Sikhs scattered through Central India. 


Sehore, Bhopal, 
December 9. 1848. 


XV 


NOTE. 


\* Names which are familiar to the English reader, and which 
may be said to have become formed into a conventional vocabulary, 
are spelt according to the common orthography, or with such little 
deviation from it as not to require special notice. Thus, Deccan 
is used throughout for Dukhun, or Dekhin, or Dukshun; Ma¬ 
homet for Mohummud, or Mohammed; Runjeet for Ranjit, and 
so on. 

Otherwise it has been attempted to convey the sound of Indian 
names by giving to English letters their ordinary pronunciation 
or admitted powers; and it has not been thought advisable to 
endeavor to render letters by their alphabetical equivalents. 

A is always to be pronounced broad as a in all, father, &c., 
excepting in such classical names as Akber, Arjoon, &c. where it 
has the sound of u in up, dull, &c. 

E, when single, is to be pronounced as e in there, or as a in 
care. When double (EE), as ee in cheer, or as ea in hear. 

I, as i in sit, writ, &c. 

O, as o in only, bone, &c., i. e. generally long. 

U, as u in up, sun, &c. 

El, as ey in eyry. 

EU, as eu in Europe. 

OW, as ow in town, or as ou in round. 

The letter C is always to be regarded as hard, or as the 
equivalent of K. 

Similarly G is always hard, and nowhere represents J. 

In some names and designations, the modern pronunciation and 
modes in use in India generally have occasionally been preferred 
to the ancient classical, or to the present local forms. Thus, 
Cheitun is written instead of Ckaitanya; Koopel, instead of 
Capila ; Raee, instead of Roy or Rao, and so on. 

On the contrary, the familiar word Siva (Seeva) has been pre¬ 
ferred to Shiv, or Sheo, or Shew; while Krishna and Kishen have 
been used indiscriminately. With regard to Avatar, there is a 
difficulty ; for the word is pronounced not as Avahter, but as 
Awtarh or Owtarh. The usual form does not convey the true 
sound, and the other is offensive to the unaccustomed eye. 

*** In the references, and also in the text, from Chap. V. to the 
end of the Volume, the name of military officers and civil function¬ 
aries are quoted without any nice regard to the rank they may 


XVI 


NOTE. 


have held at the particular time, or to the titles by which they may 
have been subsequently distinguished. But as there is one per¬ 
son only of each name to be referred to, no doubt or inconvenience 
can arise from this laxity. Thus the youthful, but discreet Mr. 
Metcalfe of the treaty with Runjeet Singh, and the Sir Charles 
Metcalfe so honorably connected with the history of India, is the 
Lord Metcalfe of riper years and approved services in another 
hemisphere. Lieutenant Colonel, or more briefly Colonel, Pot- 
tinger, is now a Major General and a Grand Cross of the Bath; 
while Mr. Clerk has been made a knight of the same Order, and 
Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence has been raised to an equal title. 
Captain, or Lieutenant-Colonel, or Sir Claude Wade, mean one 
and the same person: and similarly the late Sir Alexander 
Burnes, sometimes appears as a simple lieutenant, or as a cap¬ 
tain, or as a lieutenant colonel. On the other hand, Sir David 
Ochterloney is referred to solely under that title, although, when 
he marched to the Sutlej in 1809, he held the rank of lieutenant 
colonel only. 


i 


A. I). 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


Geographical Limits of Sikh Occupation, &c. 

Climate, Productions, &c. of the Sikh Dominions - 
Grain and Shawl wool of Ludakh - 
Silks, Indigo, and Cotton of Mooltan 
Black Cattle of the Central Punjab - 
The Persian wheel used for Irrigation - 
The Sugar of the Upper Plains - 

The Saffron .and Shawls of Cashmeer - 
The Rice and Wheat of Peshawur - 
The Drugs, Dyes, and Metals of the Hills 
Inhabitants, Races, Tribes - 

Immigration of the Juts, and Introduction of Mahometanism 
The Tartars of Tibet - 

The ancient Durdoos - 


The Toorkmuns of Ghilghit - 

The Cashmeerees - 

— their western neighbours, the Kukkas, Bumbas, Goojers, 
&c. 

The Gukkers and Junjoohs - 
The Eusofzaees, Afreedees, &c. - 

Vuzeerees and other Afghans - 

Belotches, Juts, and Raiens, of the Middle Indus 
Juns, Bhuttees, and Kathees of the Central Plains 
Chibhs and Buhows of the Lower Hills 
The Johyas and Lunggas of the South , 

The Dogras and Kunets of the Himalayas 
The Kohlees of the Himalayas - 

The Juts of the Central Plains - 

—mixed with Goojers, Rajpoots, Puthans, &c. 

Relative Proportions of some principal Races 
Kshutrees and Uroras of the Cities - 
The Wandering Chunggurs - 


Page 

1 

2 

ib. 

3 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

4 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

6 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

6 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

7 
ib. 
ib. 

8 

ib. 

ib. 

9 

ib. 


a 



XV111 


CONTENTS. 


A. D. 


Page 

The Religions of the Sikh Country - - - 9 

The Lamaic Boodhists of Ludakh - - - ib. 

The Sheea Mahometans of Bultee - - - ib. 

The Soonee Mahometans of Cashmeer, Peshawur, Mooltan, 

&c. - - - - - ib. 

The Brahminist Hill Tribes - - - ib. 

The Sikhs of the Central Plains mixed with Brahminists 

and Mahometans - - - - ib. 

Hindoo Shopkeepers of Mahometan Cities - - 10 

Village Population about Bhutinda purely Sikh - - ib. 

The debased and secluded Races, Worshippers of Local 

Gods and Oracular Divinities - - - ib. 

Characteristics of Race and Religion - - - 11 

Brahminism and Boodhism rather Forms than Feelings - ib. 
—yet strong to resist Innovation - - - ib. 

Mahometanism, although corrupted, has more of vitality - 12 

All are satisfied with their own Faith - - - ib. 

—and cannot be reasoned into Christianity - - ib. 

Sikhism an active and pervading Principle - - 13 

The Juts industrious and high-spirited - - 14 

The Raiens and some others scarcely inferior as tillers of 

the ground - - - - - ib. 

The Peasant Rajpoots - - - - ib. 

The Goojers, a pastoral people - - - ib. 

The Belotches pastoral and predatory - - ib. 

The Afghans industrious but turbulent - - 15 

The Kshutrees and Uroras, enterprizing but frugal* - ib. 

The Cashmeerees skilful, but tame and spiritless - ib. 

The unmixed Rajpoots - - - - ib. 

The Tibetans plodding and debased - - - 16 

The Custom of Polyandry one of necessity - - ib. 

The Juns and Kathees pastoral and peaceful - - ib. 

Partial Migrations of Tribes - - - 17 

Causes of Migrations - - - - ib. 

Recent Migration of Belotches up the Indus, and of Daood- 

potras up the Sutlej ib. 

Migrations of Doghers, Johyas, and Mehtums - - ib. 

Religious Proselytism - - - - ib. 

Islamism extending in Tibet - - - 17 

— and generally in Towns and Cities - - - 18 

Lamaic Boodhism progressive in some parts of the Hima¬ 
layas - - - - - ib. 

Brahminism likewise extending in the wilder parts of the 

Plains - - - - - ib. 

But the Peasantry and Mechanics generally are becoming 

seceders from Brahminism ... ib. 


CONTENTS. 


XIX 


CHAPTER IT. 

OLD INDIAN CREEDS.-MODERN REFORMS, AND THE TEACHING OF 

NANUK. 

UP TO A. D. 1529. 


A. D. 

India andits successive Masters — TheBoodhists,the Brahmins 
and Kshutrees, the Mahometans, and the Christians - 
Brahminism struggling with Boodhism becomes elaborated ; 

its Achievements and Characteristics 
Brahminism victorious over Boodhism - 
— loses its unity and vigour - 

Shunkur Acharj methodizes Polytheism - 
800—1000. Reaction of Boodhism on Brahminism 

Shunkur Acharj establishes ascetic Orders, and gives pre¬ 
eminence to Saivism - 

1000—1200. Ramanooj establishes other Orders, with Vishnoo as a 
tutelary God - 

Spiritual Teachers or Heads of Orders arrogate infallibility - 
Scepticism and heresy increase - 

The Dogma of “ Maya ” receives a moral application 
General decline of Brahminism - 

Early Arab incursions into India but little felt 
Mahometanism receives a fresh impulse on the conversion of 
the Toorkmuns - 

1001. Mehmood invades India - 

1206. Hindoostan becomes a separate Portion of the Mahometan 
World under the Eibeks - 

— and the Conquerors become Indianized 

Action and reaction of Mahometanism and Brahminism 
The popular belief unsettled - 

about 1400. Ramanund establishes a comprehensive Sect at Benares 

— and introduces Hero worship - 

— but maintains the Equality of true Believers before God - 
Gorukhnath establishes a Sect in the Punjab 

— and maintains the equalizing effect of religious penance - 

— but causes further diversity by adopting Siva as the type 

of God 

about 1450. TheVeds and Koran assailed by Kubeer, a disciple of 
Ramanund ----- 

— and the mother-tongue of the People used as an Instrument 

— but Asceticism still upheld - 

1500—1550. Cheitun preaches religious reform in Bengal 

— insists upon the efficacy of Faith - 

— and admits of secular occupations - 

a 2 


Page 

19 

20 

23 

24 

25 
ib. 

ib. 

26 

27 
ib. 

28 
ib. 
ib. 

29 
ib. 

ib. 

30 
ib. 

31 

32 
ib 
ib. 

33 
ib. 

ib. 

34 
ib. 
ib. 

35 
ib. 

in. 


XX 


CONTENTS. 


A.D. Page 

1500—1550. Vullubh extends the Reformation to the South - 35 

— and further discountenances celibacy - - ib. 

Recapitulation - - - - - 36 

The Reforms partial, and leading to Sectarianism only - ib. 

Nanuk’s views more comprehensive and profound - ib. 

1469—1529. Nanuk’s Birth and early Life - - - ib. 

The mental struggles of Nanuk - - - 38 

He becomes a Teacher - - - - 39 

Dies, aged Seventy - - - - ib. 

The excellencies of Nanuk’s Doctrine - - - ib. 

The Godhead - - - - - 40 

Mahometans and Hindoos equally called on to worship God 

in Truth - - - - - ib. 

Faith, Grace, and Good Works all necessary - - ib. 

Nanuk adopts the Brahminical Philosophy ; but in a popular 

sense, or by way of illustration only - - 41 

Nanuk admits the Mission of Mahomet, as well as the Hindoo 

Incarnations - - - - 42 

Disclaims miraculous powers - - - - ib. 

Discourages Asceticism - - - - ib. 

Conciliatory between Mahometans and Hindoos - - 43 

Nanuk fully extricates his followers from error - - ib. 

— but his Reformation necessarily religious and moral only - ib. 

Nanuk left his Sikhs or Disciples without new social laws 

as a separate People - - - - 44 

— but guarded against their narrowing into a Sect - ib. 

Nanuk declares Unggud to be his successor as a Teacher of 

Men - - - - - ib. 


CHAPTER III. 

THE SIKll GOOROOS OR TEACHERS, AND TIIE MODIFICATION OF SIKHISM 

UNDER GOVIND. 

A. D. 1529—1716. 

Unggud upholds the broad principles of Nanuk - - 46 

1552. Dies - ib. 

Ummer Das succeeds - - - - 47 

Separates the Sikhs from the Oodassees - - - ib. 

His views with regard to “ Suttee ” - - ib. 

1574. Dies - - - - . . ib*. 

Ram Das succeeds, and establishes himself at Amritsir - ib. 
1581 Dies - - - - _ - 48 

Arjoon succeeds and fairly grasps the Idea of Nanuk - ib. 

Makes Amritsir the “ Holy City ” of the Sikhs - - ib. 

Compiles the “ Adee Grunt’h ” - - - 49 


CONTENTS. 


XXI 


A. D. 

1581. 


1606. 


Reduces customary Offerings to a systematic Tax or Tithe - 

— and engages in traffic - 

Arjoon provokes the enmity of Chundoo Shah 
Becomes a Partizan of Prince Khoosroo in rebellion 
Imprisonment and death of Arjoon - 
Diffusion of Sikhism - 

The Writings of Goor Das Bhulleh - 
The Conceptions of Nanuk become the moving impulses of a 
People - 

— and his real History a Mythical narrative 

Hur Govind becomes Gooroo after a disputed succession 
Chundoo Shah slain or put to death - 
Hur Govind arms the Sikhs and becomes a military leader - 
The gradual modification of Sikhism 


Page 

49 
ib. 

50 
ib. 
ib. 

51 
ib. 

ib. 

52 
ib. 

53 
ib. 
ib. 

-and complete separation of the Sikhs from Hindoo Dissenters 54 

ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

55 
ib. 
ib. 

56 
ib. 
ib. 

57 
ib. 
ib. 

58 

59 
ib. 
ib. 

60 
ib. 
ib. 
61 
ib. 
62 
ib. 

63 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

64 
ib. 

- 65 


Hur Govind falls under the displeasure of Jehangheer 

— is imprisoned - 

— and released - 

1628. Jehangheer dies, and Hur Govind engages in a petty warfare 
Hur Govind retires to the wastes of Hurreeana 
Returns to the Punjab - 

Slays in fight one Payenda Khan, his friend 
1645. Death of Hur Govind - 

Self-sacrifice of disciples on his pyre - 
The Body of Sikhs forms a separate Establishment within the 
Empire - 

Some anecdotes of Hur Govind - 

— his philosophical views - 

Hur Raee succeeds as Gooroo - 

Becomes a political partizan - 
1661. Dies - 

Hurkishen succeeds - 

1664. Dies ------ 

Tech Buhadur succeeds as ninth Gooroo 
© 

Ram Raee disputes his claims - 

Tegh Buhadur retires for a time to Bengal 

— returns to the Punjab - 

— leads a life of violence - 

— and is constrained to appear at Delhi 
1675. —put to death - 

— his character and influence - 

The title “ Sutcha Padshah ” applied to the Gooroos 
Govind succeeds to the Apostleship - 

— but lives in retirement for several years 
Govind’s character becomes developed - 

About 1695. He resolves on modifying the system of Nanuk, and 
on combating the Mahometan faith and power 
a 3 


XXII 


CONTENTS 


A. D. Page 

About 1695. Govind’s views and motives - - - 65 

— and mode of presenting his Mission - - - 66 

The Religions of the world held to be corrupt, and a new 

Dispensation to have been vouchsafed - - ib. 

The Legend regarding Govind’s reformation of the Sect of 

Nanuk - - - - - 67 

The Principles inculcated by Govind - - - 68 

The “ Khalsa ” - - - - - ib. 

Old Forms useless. God is One. All men are equal. Ido¬ 
latry is to be contemned, and Mahometanism destroyed ib. 
The “ Pahul ” or Initiation of the Sect of “ Singhs ” - 70 

The visible distinctions of Sikhs, or Singhs - - ib 

Lustration by Water. Reverence for Nanuk. The Exclama¬ 
tion “ Hail Gooroo ! ” - - - - ib. 

Unshorn Locks ; the Title of “ Singh ” - - - 71 

— and Devotion to Arms - - - - ib. 

The character and condition of the Moghul Empire when 

Govind resolved to assail it - - - 72 


Akber ------ 

Aurungzeb - 

Sevajee the Mahratta - 

Gooroo Govind ----- 
Govind’s plans of active opposition - 

— his military posts - 

— and leagues with the Chiefs of the Lower Himalayas 

— his influence as a Religious Teacher - 

Govind quarrels with the Rajas of Nahun and Nalagurh 
Aids the Raja of Kuhloor and other Chiefs against the Im¬ 
perial forces - 

About 1701. Govind’s proceedings excite the suspicions of the 
Hill Chiefs, and cause the Emperor some anxiety 
Govind reduced to straits at Anundpoor 
—his children escape, but are subsequently put to death 
•—he himself flies to Chumkowr - 

Govind escapes from Chumkowr - 

Successfully resists his pursuers at Mookutsur 

— and rests at Dumdumma near Bhutinda 
Govind composes the “ Vichitr Natuk ” - 

—is summoned by Aurungzeb to his presence 

— replies to the Emperor in a denunciatory strain 

1707. Aurungzeb dies, and Buhadur Shah succeeds 

Govind proceeds to the South of India - - 

— enters the Imperial service - 

1708. Govind wounded by assassins - 

—and dies, declaring his Mission to be fulfilled, and the Khalsa 
to be committed to God - 

Govind’s end untimely, but his labors not fruitless 


ib. 

ib. 

73 
ib. 

74 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

75 

ib. 

76 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

77 
ib. 
ib. 

78 
ib. 
ib. 

79 
ib. 

80 

ib. 

81 


CONTENTS. 


XX111 


A.D. Page 

1708. A new character impressed upon the reformed Hindoos - 82 

— although not fully apparent to strangers, if so to Indians - ib. 

Bunda" succeeds Govind as a temporal leader - - 83 

1709—1710. Proceeds to the North and captures Sirhind - 84 

The Emperor marches towards Lahore - - - ib. 

—but Bunda is in the mean time driven towards Jummoo - ib. 

1712. Buhadur Shah dies at Lahore - - - ib. 

1713. Jehandar Shah slain by Ferokhseer, who becomes Emperor - 85 
The Sikhs reappear under Bunda, and the province of Sirhind 

plundered - - - - - ib. 

1716. Bunda eventually reduced and taken prisoner - - ib. 

— and put to death at Delhi - - - - 86 

The views of Bunda confined and his memory not revered - ib. 
The Sikhs generally much depressed after the death of Bunda 87 
Recapitulation : Nanuk. Ummer Das. Arjoon. Hur Govind. 

Govind Singh - - - - ib 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SIKH INDEPENDENCE. 

A. D. 1716—1764. 

1716—1738. The Moghul Empire rapidly declines. Nadir Shah, the 

Mahrattas, &c. - - - - 89 

The weakness of the Mahometan Government favorable to 

the Sikhs - - - - - 90 

The Sikhs kept together by the fervour of their Belief - ib. 

1738—1739. The Sikhs form bands of plunderers - - 91 

About 1745. Establish a fort at Dullehwal on the Ravee ; but are at 

last dispersed - - - - ib. 

1747 —1748. Ahmed Shah’s first invasion of India - - 92 

March, 1748. —retires from Sirhind, and is harassed by the Sikhs - ib. 

Meer Munnoo Governor of the Punjab - - - 93 

— rules vigorously and employs Kowra Mull and Adeena 

Beg Khan - - - - - ib. 

But the Sikhs reappear, and Jussa Singh Kullal proclaims the 

existence of the “ Dul” or army of the Khalsa - ib. 

End of 1748. Meer Munnoo disperses the Sikhs - - ib. 

— and comes to terms with Ahmed Shah, who had again 

crossed the Indus - - * - 94 

1749 — 5 i. Meer Munnoo breaks with Delhi by resisting his super¬ 
cession in Mooltan - - - - ib. 

_and withholds tribute from Ahmed Shah, who crosses the 

Indus for the third time - - - ib. 

April, 1752. The Abdalee reaches Lahore - - - 95 

a 4 


XXIV 


CONTENTS. 


A. 1). Page 

1752. The Abdalee defeats Meer Munnoo ; but retains him as Go¬ 
vernor of the Punjab - - - 95 

The Sikhs gradually increase in strength - - ib. 

But are defeated by Adeena Beg, who nevertheless gives 

them favorable terms - ib. 

Jussa the carpenter - ib. 

End of 1752. Meer Munnoo dies, and Lahore is reannexed to Delhi 96 

1755, 1756. Ahmed Shah’s fourth Invasion : Prince Tymoor Go¬ 
vernor of the Punjab, and Nujeebooddowla placed 
at the head of the Delhi army - - ib. 

Tymoor expels the Sikhs from Amritsir - - - 97 

1756—1758. But the Afghans eventually retire, and the Sikhs 

occupy Lahore and coin money - - - ib. 

1758. The Mahrattas at Delhi - - - - ib. 

Mahratta aid against the Afghans sought by Adeena Beg 

Khan - - - - - 98 

May, 1758. Ragoba enters Lahore, and appoints Adeena Beg Go¬ 
vernor of the Punjab - - - - ib. 

End of 1758. Adeena Beg dies - - - - ib. 

1759—1761. Ahmed Shah’s fifth expedition - - - ib. 

1760. Delhi occupied by the Afghans, but afterwards taken by the 

Mahrattas - - - - 99 

Jan. 7. 1761. The Mahrattas signally defeated at Paneeput, and ex¬ 
pelled temporarily from Upper India - - ib. 

The Sikhs unrestrained in the open Country - - ib. 

1761, 1762. Goojranwala successfully defended by Churrut Singh, and 

the Dooranees confined to Lahore - - 100 

The Sikhs assemble at Amritsir and ravage the country on 

either side of the Sutlej - - - ib. 

Ahmed Shah’s sixth invasion - - - ib. 

Feb. 1762. The “ Ghuloo Ghara” or great Defeat of the Sikhs near 

Loodiana - - - - ib. 

Alha Singh of Putteeala - - - - 101 

Kabulee Mull Governor of Lahore - - - ib. 

End of 1762. Ahmed Shah retires after committing various excesses ib. 
The Sikhs continue to increase in strength - - ib. 

Kussoor plundered - - - - ib. 

Dec. 1763. The Afghans defeated near Sirhind - - 102 

Sirhind taken and destroyed, and the Province permanently 

occupied by the Sikhs - - - ib. 

1764. The Sikhs aid the Jats of Bhurtpoor in besieging Delhi - ib. 

Ahmed Shah’s seventh expedition and speedy retirement - ib. 

The Sikhs become masters of Lahore - - - 103 

A general assembly held at Amritsir, and the Sect established 

as a ruling People - - - ib. 

The Sikhs form or fall into a political system - - ib. 

—which may be termed a Theocratic confederate feudalism - 104 


CONTENTS 


XXY 


A. d. Page 

1764. Their “ Gooroomuttas ” or Diets - - - 104 

The System not devised, or knowingly adopted, and there¬ 
fore incomplete and temporary - - 105 

The Confederacies called “ Misls ’* 106 

Their names and particular origin - - i b. 

The relative preeminence of the Misls or Confederacies - 107 
The original and acquired possessions of the Misls - - 108 

The gross forces of the Sikhs, and the relative strength of 

the Misls ----- 109 
The Order of Akalees - - - - ib. 

Their origin and principles of action - - - 110 


CHAPTER V. 


FROM THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE SIKHS TO THE ASCENDANCY OF 
RUNJEET SINGH AND THE ALLIANCE WITH THE ENGLISH. 

1765-1808-9. 


1767. 


1768. 


1770. 


1772. 

1774. 


The Sikhs hurried into activity by Ahmed Shah’s final 


descent - - - - - 111 

Ummer Singh of Putteeala and the Rajpoot Chief of Kototch 

appointed to command under the Abdalee - 112 

Ahmed Shah retires - - - - ib. 

Rhotas taken by the Sikhs - ib. 

The Sikhs ravage the Lower Punjab - - - ib. 

And enter into terms with Buhawulpoor - - 113 

Threaten Cashmeer - - - - ib. 

And press Nujeebooddowla on the Jumna and Ganges - ib. 

Jhunda Singh of the Bunghee “ Misl” preeminent - - ib. 

Jummoo rendered tributary - ib. 

Kussoor reduced to submission - - - 144 

And Mooltan occupied - - - - ib. 

Jhunda Singh assassinated by Jaee^Singh Kuneia - - ib. 

Jaee Singh Kuneia and Jussa Singh Kulial expel Jussa the 

Carpenter - - - - - ib. 

Kanggra falls to the Kuneia “ Misl ” - - ib. 


1779. Tyraoor Shah of Caubul recovers Mooltan - - 115 

1793. Tymoor Shah dies, leaving the Sikhs masters of the Upper ib. 

Punjab as far as Attok - 

1768—78. The Phoolkeeas master Hurreeana 

1779—80. An expedition sent from Delhi against the Malwa Sikhs ib. 

succeeds in part only - - - - ib. 

1781. Ummer Singh of Putteeala dies - - - ib. 

1776. Zabita Khan, Son of Nujeebooddowla, aided in his designs on 

the Ministry by the Sikhs - - - ib. 


XXVI 


CONTENTS. 


A. D. 

1781—85. The ravages of the Sikhs in the Dooab and Rohilkhund 
under Bughel Singh Krora Singheea 
1785. The Sikhs defeated at Meerut - 

The Rajpoots of the Lower Himalayas rendered tributary 

1784— 85. Jaee Singh Kuneia preeminent - 
Rise of Muha Singh Sookerchukeea - 

1785— 86. The Kunefas reduced - 

Jussa the Carpenter restored, and Kanggra made over to 
Sunsar Chund of Kototch - 
1785—92. Muha Singh preeminent among the Sikhs 

1792. Muha Singh dies - 

1793. Shah Zuman succeeds to the throne of Caubul 

1795—96. Invited to enter India by the Rohillas and the Vuzeer of 
Oude - 

1797. Shah Zuman at Lahore - 

1798—99. The Shah’s second march to Lahore 

1799. Runjeet Singh rises to eminence - 

And obtains a cession of Lahore from the Afghan King 
1785. The power of the Mahrattas under Sindhia in Upper India 
Sindhia’s alliance with the Sikhs - 

1788. Gholam Qadir blinds Shah Alum - 

Sindhia masters Delhi and curbs the Sikhs 

1797. General Perron appointed Sindhia’s deputy in Northern 

India - 

Sindhia’s and Perron’s views crossed by Holkar and George 
Thomas - 

1798. George Thomas establishes himself at Hansee 

1799. Engages in hostilities with the Sikhs - 

1800. Thomas marches towards Loodiana 

Opposed by Sahib Singh Behdee - 

Retires to Hansee, but afterwards masters Sufeed on near 
Delhi - 

1801. Thomas rejects Perron’s overtures, and resorts to arms 

1802. Surrenders to Perron - 

1802—3. The Mahrattas under Perron paramount among the Sikhs 
of Sirhind ----- 

Perron forms an alliance with Rurjeet Singh 
Is distrusted by Sindhia - 

1803. Flees to the English, then at war with the Mahrattas 
First intercourse of the English with the Sikhs 

1715—17. The Mission to Ferokhseer detained by the campaign 
against Bunda - 

1757. Clive and Omichund - 

1784. Warren Hastings tries to guard Oude against the Sikhs 
1788. The Sikhs ask English aid against the Mahrattas - 
Early English estimates of the Sikhs - 
Colonel Francklin - 

The Traveller Forster - 


Page 

117 
ib. 
ib. 

118 
ib. 
ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

119 

ib. 

ib. 

120 
ib. 
ib. 

121 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 

122 

ib. 

123 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

124 
ib. 
ib. 

ib. 

125 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

ib. 

126 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 


CONTENTS. 


XXV11 


A. D. 

1803. Sikhs opposed to Lord Lake at Delhi - 

The Sikhs of Sirhind tender their allegiance to the English - 
The Chiefs of Jeend and Kythul - 

Shah Alum freed from Mahratta thraldom 

1804— 5. The English wars with Holkar - 

The Sikhs mostly side with the English, and render good ser¬ 
vice - 

1805. Holkar retires towards the Sutlej - 

Delays at Putteeala - 

Halts at Amritsir, but fails in gaining over Runjeet Singh 

1805— 6. Holkar comes to terms with the English, and marches to 

the South - 

1803—8. Friendly Relations of the English with the Sikhs of Sir- 
hind - 

1806. Formal Engagements entered into with Runjeet Singh and 

Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea - 

The English correspond with Sunsar Chund of Kototch 
The Sikhs of Sirhind regarded as virtually dependents of the 
English by Lord Lake - 

But the connection not regularly declared, or made binding in 
form - 

Retrospect with reference to Runjeet Singh’s rise 
]799. Runjeet Singh masters Lahore - 

1801—2. Reduces the Bunghee Misl and the Puthans of Kussoor - 
Allies himself with Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea 
1802. Runjeet Singh acquires Amritsir - 

1803—4. And confines Sunsar Chund to the Hills 
Who becomes involved with the Goorkhas 
1800—1803. Shah Zuman deposed by Shah Mehmood, and the 
Dooranee Empire weakened - 

1805. Wherefore Runjeet Singh proceeds to the South-West of the 

Punjab - 

Returns to the North on Holkar’s approach 
A Sikh Gooroomutta, or National Council, held 
But the Confederate system found decayed and lifeless 
And a single temporal authority virtually admitted in the per¬ 
son of Runjeet Singh - 

1806. Runjeet Singh interferes in the affairs of the Sikhs of Sirhind 

1806. Takes Loodiana - 

And receives offerings from Putteeala - 
1805. Sunsar Chund and the Goorkhas - 

Sunsar Chund and his confederate of Nalagurh driven to the 
North of the Sutlej - 
And the Goorkhas invest Kanggra - 

1807. Runjeet Singh expels the Puthan Chief of Kussoor 
And partially succeeds against Mooltan - 

1807. Runjeet Singh employs Mohkum Chund 


Page 

127 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

128 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

129 
ib. 

ib. 

130 

ib. 

ib. 

131 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

132 

ib. 

ib. 

133 
ib. 

ib. 

134 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

ib. 

135 
ib. 
ib. 

136 


XXV111 


CONTENTS. 


A. D. Page 

1807. Crosses the Sutlej for the second time - 136 

And returns to seize the territories of the deceased Dullehwala 

Chief - - - - - ib. 

The Sikhs of Sirhind become apprehensive of Runjeet Singh ib. 

1808. British Protection asked - - - - 137 

But not distinctly acceded - - - - ib. 

Whereupon the Chiefs repair to Runjeet Singh - - ib. 

1808—9. The understood designs of the French on India modify 

the policy of the English towards the Sikhs - ib. 

The Chiefs of Sirhind taken under Protection, and a close 

alliance sought with Runjeet Singh - - 138 

Mr. Metcalfe sent as Envoy to Lahore - - - ib. 

Aversion of Runjeet Singh to a restrictive treaty, and his 

third expedition across the Sutlej - - ib. 

1809. British Troops moved to the Sutlej - 139 

The views of the English become somewhat modified - ib. 

But Runjeet Singh still required to keep to the North of the 

Sutlej - - - - - 140 

Runjeet Singh yields - - - - ib. 

And enters into a formal treaty - 141 

The Terms of Sikh dependence and of English supremacy in 

Sirhind - - - - - ib. 

Sir David Ochterloney shows that the English regarded them¬ 
selves alone in offering Protection - - ib. 

The Relations of the Protected Chiefs among themselves - 142 
Perplexities of the British Authorities regarding the rights of 

supremacy, and the operation of international laws - 143 
Sir David Ochterloney’s frank admission of the false basis of 

his original policy — 144 


CHAPTER VI. 

FROM THE SUPREMACY OF RUNJEET SINGH TO THE REDUCTION OF 
MOOLTAN, CASHMEER, AND PESHAWUR. 

1809-1823-24. 

1809. The English suspicious of Runjeet Singh, notwithstanding 

their joint treaty - 146 

And Runjeet Singh equally doubtful on his part - - 147 

But distrust gradually vanishes on either side - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh acquires Kanggra, and confines the Goorkhas 

to the left of the Sutlej - ib. 

Th c Goorkhas urge the English to effect a joint conquest of 

the Punjab ----- I 4 g 


CONTENTS. 


XXIX 


A.D. 

1811. 

1813. 

1814- 

1809- 
1810. 

1810- 
1811. 
1812. 

1813. 


1813— 


1814. 

1815- 

1814. 

1815- 

1818. 


1819. 

1819- 

1818- 

1822. 


Page 

But Runjeet Singh told he may cross the Sutlej to resist the 

Nepal leader - - - - 149 

Ummer Singh Thapa again presses an alliance against the Sikhs ib. 
■15. The War between the English and Goorkhas - - ib. 

Sunsar Chund of Kotctch, Runjeet Singh and the English - ib. 
■10. Shah Shooja expelled from Afghanistan - - 150 

Runjeet Singh’s suspicions and plans - ib. 

The Muharaja meets the Shah, but no arrangement come to ib. 
Runjeet Singh attempts Mooltan, but fails - - 151 

And proposes to the English a joint expedition against it - ib. 

■12. Shah Shooja’s Peshawur and Mooltan campaign, and sub¬ 
sequent imprisonment in Cashmeer - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh meets Shah Mehmood - 152 

The blind Shah Zuman repairs for a time to Lahore - 153 

The family of Shah Shooja repairs to Lahore - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh uses the Shah’s name for purposes of his own ib. 
Runjeet Singh meets Futteh Khan, the Caubul Vuzeer - 154 
And a joint enterprize against Cashmeer resolved on - ib. 

Futteh Khan outstrips the Sikhs, and holds the valley for 

Mehmood - - - - - ib. 

Shah Shooja joins Runjeet Singh, who acquires Attok - ib. 

While Mohkum Chund defeats the Caubul Vuzeer in a pitched 

battle - - - - - ib. 

14. Runjeet Singh obtains the Koh-i-noor diamond - 155 

And promises aid to Shah Shooja - - - ib. 

Makes a movement towards the Indus - - - ib. 

Shah Shooja’s distresses - - - - ib. 

The flight of his family from Lahore to Loodiana - ib. 

And his own escape to Kishtwar - 156 

-1816. Fails against Cashmeer, and retires to Loodiana - ib. 

Runjeet Singh attempts Cashmeer, and is repulsed - ib. 

■1816. Various Chiefs in the Hills, and various places towards 

the Indus, reduced - - 157 

Runjeet Singh captures Mooltan - - - 158 

Futteh Khan, Vuzeer of Caubul, put to death - - 159 

Mahomed Azeem proclaims Shah Ayoob - - 160 

Runjeet Singh marches to Peshawur - - - ib 

Which he makes over to Jehan Dad Khan - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh intent upon Cashmeer - ib. 

Delayed by a discussion with the English - - ib. 

But finally annexes the Valley to his dominions - - 161 

-20. The Derajat of the Indus annexed to Lahore - - ib. 

-21. Mahomed Azeem Khan desirous of securing Peshawur - 162 
From which Runjeet Singh demands and receives tribute - ib. 
But the prosecution of his plans interfered with by a discus¬ 
sion with the English about his Mother-in-law and a 
place called Whudnee - - - - 163 



XXX 


CONTENTS. 


A. D. Page 

1823. The Sikhs march against Peshawur - - - 163 

The Battle of Noshehra - - - - 164 

Peshawur reduced, but left as a dependency with Yar Ma¬ 
homed Khan - - - - ib. 

Death of Mahomed Azeem Khan - - - ib. 

1823—24. Runjeet Singh feels his way towards Sindh - - 165 

1824. Sunsar Chund of Kototch dies - - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh’s power consolidated, and the mass of his do¬ 
minions acquired - - - - ib. 

1818—1821. Miscellaneous transactions. Shah Shooja’s expedi¬ 
tion against Shikarpoor and Peshawur - - 166 

1821. The Shah returns to Loodiana - - - 167 

And is followed by Shah Zuman, who takes up his abode at 

the same place - - - - ib. 

1820—22. Appa Sahib, Ex-Raja of Nagpoor - - - ib. 

His idle schemes with the son of Shah Zuman - - ib. 

1816—17. The petty Ex-Chief of Noorpoor causes Runjeet Singh 

some anxiety, owing to his resort to the English - 168 

1820. The Traveller Moorcroft in the Punjab - - 169 

Runjeet Singh’s general system of Government, and view of 

his means and authority as Leader of the Sikhs - 170 
The Sikh Army - 173 

1822. Arrival of French Officers at Lahore - - - ib. 

Excellencies of the Sikhs as soldiers - ib. 

Characteristics of Rajpoots and Puthans - - ib. 

— of Mahrattas - - - - - ib. 

— and of Goorkhas - - - - ib. 

Aversion of the older military tribes of India to regular dis¬ 
cipline - - - - - 174 

— with the exception of the Goorkhas, and, partially, of the 

Mahometans - - - - ib. 

The Sikh forces originally composed of horsemen armed 

with matchlocks - » - - ib. 

1783. Notices of the Sikh troops, by Forster - - - ib. 

1805. —by Malcolm - - - - - ib. 

1810. —by Ochterloney - - - - - ib. 

Characteristic Arms of different Races, including the English 175 
The general importance given to Artillery by the Indians, a 

consequence of the victories of the English - ib. 

Runjeet Singh labors to introduce discipline - - ib. 

And, at length, succeeds in making the Sikhs regular Infantry 

and Artillery Soldiers - - - - 176 

European discipline introduced into the Punjab before the 

arrival of French officers - - - ib. 

Whose services were yet of value to Runjeet Singh, and 

honorable to themselves - - - 177 

Runjeet Singh’s marriages and family relations - - ib. 


CONTENTS. 


XXXI 


A.D. 

1807. 

1810. 

1802. 

1821. 


His wife Mehtab Kour, and mother-in-law, Sudda Kour 
Slier Singh and Tara Singh, the declared sons of Mehtab 
Kour, not fully recognised - 
Sudda Kour’s vexation of spirit and hostile views - 
Khurruk Singh born to Runjeet Singh by another wife 
Nao Nihal Singh born to Khurruk Singh 
Runjeet Singh’s personal licentiousness and intemperance, in 
connection with the vices vaguely attributed to the 


Page 

178 

ib. 

ib. 

179 
ib. 


mass of the Sikh people 

- 

- 

- ib. 

Runjeet Singh’s favorites 

- 

- 

- 181 

Khooshhal Singh, a Brahmin - 

- 

- 

- ib. 

The Rajpoots of Jummoo 

- 

- 

- ib. 

Runjeet Singh’s chosen servants 

- 

- 

- 182 

Fukeer Uzeezooddeen 

- 

- 

- ib. 

Deewan Sawun Mull 

- 

_ 

- 183 

Hurree Singh Nulwa 

- 

. 

- ib. 

Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea 

_ 


- ib. 

Dehsa Singh Mujeetheea 

- 

- 

- ib. 


CHAPTER VH. 

FROM THE ACQUISITION OF MOOLTAN, CASHMEER, AND PESHAWUR TO 
THE DEATH OF RUNJEET SINGH. 

1824—1839. 


Change in the Position of the Sikhs, relatively to the English, 

after the year 1823 - - - - 184 

1824—25. Miscellaneous transactions - 185 

Peshawur - - - - - ib. 

Nepal - - - - - - ib. 

Sindh - - - - - - ib. 

Bhurtpoor - - - *• - ib. 

Futteh Singh, the Alhoowaleea Chief - - - 186 

1826. Runjeet Singh falls sick, and is attended by an English 

surgeon - - - - - ib. 

1827. Anecdotes. Lord Amherst, the British Governor General - ib. 

Lord Combermere, the British Commander-in-Chief - 187 

Captain Wade made the immediate Agent for the affairs of 

Lahore - - - - - ib. 

Discussions about rights to districts South of the Sutlej - 188 
Anundpoor, Whudnee, Feerozpoor, &c. - - - ib. 

1820—28. Gradual ascendancy of Dhian Singh, his brothers, and his 

son - 189 

1828. Proposed marriage of Heera Singh into the family of Sunsar 

Chund - - - ' - ib. 


XXX11 


CONTENTS. 


A. D. 

1829. 

1827. 


1829. 

1830. 


1831 


1832. 


1833- 

1827, 

1831. 


1832. 


1833. 

1834. 


Flight of Sunsar Chund’s widow and son 
Raja Heera Singh’s marriage - 

Insurrection at Peshawur under Syed Ahmed Shah Ghazee - 
History of the Syed - - - • - 

His doctrines of religious reform - 

His pilgrimage - 

His journey through Rajpootana and Sindh to Candahar and 
Peshawur - 

Rouses the Eusofzaees to a religious war 
Syed Ahmed Shah fails against the Sikhs at Akcra 
But defeats Yar Mahomed, who dies of his wounds 
Syed Ahmed Shah crosses the Indus - 
He is compelled to retire, but falls upon and routs Sooltan 
Mahomed Khan, and occupies Peshawur - 
The Syed’s influence decreases - 

He relinquishes Peshawur - 

And retires towards Cashmeer, and is surprised and slain 
Runjeet Singh courted by various parties 
The Belotches - 
Shah Mehmood - 
The Baeeza Baee of Gwalior - 
The Russians and the English - 

Lord Bentinck, the Governor General, at Simlah - 
A Meeting proposed with Runjeet Singh, and desired by both 
parties for different reasons - 

The Meeting at Rooper - 

Runjeet Singh’s anxiety about Sindh - 

The scheme of opening the Indus to commerce 
Proposals made to the Sindhians and Sikhs 
Runjeet Singh’s views and suspicions - - 

He expels the Daoodpotras from the Lower Punjab 
And declares his superior right to Shikarpoor 
Runjeet Singh yields to the English demands 
Declaring, however, that their commerce interfered with his 
policy - 

—35. Shah Shooja’s second expedition to Afghanistan 
&c. The Shah’s overtures to the English 
His negotiations with the Sindhians - 
And with Runjeet Singh - 

The gates of Somnath and the slaughter of kine 
Further negotiations with the Sikhs and Sindhians 
The English indifferent about the Shah’s attempts 
— but Dost Mahomed Khan is alarmed, and courts their friend¬ 
ship - 

The Shah sets out - 
Defeats the Sindhians - 

But is routed at Candahar - 


Page 

189 

190 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

191 

ib. 

192 
ib. 

193 
ib. 

ib. 

194 
ib. 
ib. 

195 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

196 
ib. 
ib. 

197 

198 
ib. 

199 
ib. 
ib. 

200 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

201 

ib. 

ib. 

202 

203 

ib. 

ib. 

ib. 


CONTENTS. 


XXX111 


1835. And returns to Loodiana - -204 

1834. Runjeet Singh, suspicious of Shah Shooja, strengthens him¬ 
self by annexing Peshawur to his dominions - ib. 

1832—36. Huzara and the Derajat more completely reduced - ib. 

1833. Sunsar Chund’s grandson returns - 205 

1834—36. Runjeet Singh sends a Mission to Calcutta - - ib. 

1821. Runjeet Singh and Ludakh - - - - ib. 

1834— 35. Ludakh reduced by the Jummoo Rajas - - 206 

1835— 36. Runjeet Singh recurs to his claims on Shikarpoor, and 

his designs on Sindh - - - - ib. 

Negotiations - - - - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh’s ambition displeasing to the English - 207 

The Muharaja nevertheless keeps in view his plans of ag¬ 
grandizement - 208 

1836. The objects of the English become political as well as com¬ 

mercial - - - - - ib. 

And they resolve on mediating between Runjeet Singh and 

the Sindhians - 209 

The English desire to restrain Runjeet Singh without threat¬ 
ening him - - - - - ib. 

The Sindhians impatient, and ready to resort to arms - 210 

Runjeet Singh equally ready - - - - ib. 

But yields to the representations of the English - - ib. 

Yet continues to hold Rojhan with ulterior views - - 211 

Retrospect. The English and the Barukzaees - - ib. 

1829. Sooltan Mahomed Khan solicits the friendship or protection 

of the English against the Sikhs - - 212 

1832. Dost Mahomed Khan does the same - - ib. 

The Barukzaees, apprehensive of Shah Shooja, again press for 

an alliance with the English - - - 213 

And Jubbar Khan sends his son to Loodiana - - ib. 

1834. Dost Mahomed formally tenders his allegiance to the English ib. 

But defeats Shah Shooja, and recovers confidence - ib. 

Dost Mahomed attempts to recover Peshawur - - ib. 

The English decline interfering - - - 214 

1835. Runjeet Singh and Dost Mahomed in force at Peshawur - ib. 

Dost Mahomed retires rather than risk a battle - - 215 

1836. Dost Mahomed looks towards Persia, but still prefers an Eng¬ 

lish alliance - - - - ib. 

The Candahar Chiefs desirous of English aid - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh endeavors to gain over Dost Mahomed - 216 

1836— 37. But the Ameer prefers war - - - ib. 

Hurree Singh’s designs - - - - ib. 

1837. Battle of Jumrood - - - - - ib. 

The Sikhs defeated and Hurree Singh killed, but the Afghans 

retire - - - - - ib. 

Runjeet Singh’s efforts to retrieve his affairs at Peshawur - 217 


XXXIV 


CONTENTS. 


A.D. Page 

His negotiations with Dost Mahomed and Shah Shooja - 217 
The English resolve on mediating between the Sikhs and 

Afghans - - - - - ib. 

The more especially as they are apprehensive of Russia - 218 
And are further dissatisfied with the proceedings of General 

Allard - - - - - ib. 

The marriage of Nao Nihal Singh - - - 219 

Sir Henry Fane at Lahore - - - - ib. 

The Sikh Military Order of the Star - 220 

Runjeet Singh’s object the gratification of his guests and 

allies - - - - - ib. 

Anecdotes showing a similar purpose - - - ib. 

The British scheme of opening the Indus to commerce ends 

in the project of restoring Shah Shooja - - 221 

1837—38. Sir Alexander Burnes at Caubul - 223 

Dost Mahomed eventually falls into the views of Persia and 

Russia - - - - - ib. 

The original policy of the English erroneous - - ib. 

But under the circumstances brought about, the Expedition to 

Caubul wisely and boldly conceived - - 224 

1838. Negotiations regarding the restoration of Shah Shooja - ib. 

Runjeet Singh dissatisfied, but finally assents - - 225 

1839. Runjeet Singh apparently at the height of greatness - 226 

But chafed in mind and enfeebled in health - - ib. 

Death of Runjeet Singh - 227 

The Political condition of the Sikhs as modified by the genius 

of Runjeet Singh - - - - ib. 

The artifices of Dhian Singh to bring about the quiet succes¬ 
sion of Khurruk Singh - 228 


CHAPTER VIII. 

FROM THE DEATH OF MUHARAJA RUNJEET SINGH TO THE DEATH OF 
VUZEER JOWAHIR SINGH. 

1839—1845. 

1839. Sher Singh claims the succession - 229 

But Nao Nihal Singh assumes all real power - - 230 

And temporarily allies himself with the Jummoo Rajas - ib. 

The favorite, Cheit Singh, put to death - - ib. 

1840. Mr. Clerk succeeds Lieut.-Col. Wade as Agent - - 231 

The relief of the British troops in Caubul - - 232 

English negotiations about trade - 233 

Nao Nihal Singh’s schemes against the Rajas of Jummoo - 234 
Interrupted by discussions with the English about Afgha¬ 
nistan - . 235 


CONTENTS. 


XXXV 


A. D. 


1841. 


1842. 

1841. 


1842. 


1843. 


The death of Muharaja Khurruk Singh - 
Death of the Prince Nao Nihal Singh - 
Sher Singh proclaimed Sovereign - 
But Chund Kour, the widow of Khurruk Singh, assumes 
power, and Sher Singh retires - 
Dhuleep Singh’s birth and pretensions made known 
The English remain neutral at the time - 
Dost Mahomed attempts Caubul, but eventually surrenders to 
the English - 

Sher Singh gains over the troops with Dhian Singh’s aid 
Sher Singh attacks Lahore - 

Chund Kour yields, and Sher Singh proclaimed Muharaja 
The Sindhahwala Family - 

The Army becomes uncontrollable - 
Sher Singh alarmed - 

The English anxious about the general tranquillity 
Undervalue the Sikhs - 

And are ready to interfere by force of arms 
The military disorders subside, but the people become suspi¬ 
cious of the English - 

Major Broadfoot’s passage across the Punjab 
The Sikhs further irritated against the English 
The changed relation of the Lahore Army to the State 
Its Military organization enables it to become the Represen¬ 
tative body of the “ Khalsa” - 
Negotiations with the English about inland trade 


Zorawur Singh, the deputy of the Jummoo Rajas, takes 
Iskardo - 

And seizes Garo from the Chinese - 
The English interfere 
The Sikhs defeated by a force from Lassa 
The Chinese recover Garo - 
Peace between the Chinese and Sikhs - 
The ambitious views of the Jummoo Rajas towards the 
Indus - 

Clash with the policy of the English - 
The Insurrection at Caubul (November 1841) 

The English distrustful of the Sikhs, but yet urgent upon them 
for aid - 

An army of retribution assembled - 
Golab Singh sent to cooperate - 

Caubul retaken - 

Discussions regarding Jellalabad, and the limits of Sikh 
dominion - 

The Governor General meets the Sikh minister and heir 
apparent at Feerozpoor - 

Dost Mahomed returns to Caubul 


Page 

236 
ib. 

237 


ib. 

238 

239 

ib. 

ib. 

240 
ib. 

241 
ib. 

242 
ib. 
ib. 
ib. 

244 
ib. 

245 
ib. 

ib. 

246 

247 

248 

249 

250 
ib. 

251 

ib 

252 
ib. 


253 

254 

255 

256 


ib. 

258 

261 


XXXVI 


CONTENTS, 


A. D. 


1844. 


1843. 

1844. 


1845. 


1844. 

1845. 


Anxieties of Sher Singh - 

The Sindhahwala Chiefs and the Juminoo Rajas coalesce 

Sher Singh assassinated by Ajeet Singh 

Who likewise puts Dhian Singh to death 

Heera Singh avenges his father - 

Dhuleep Singh proclaimed Muharaja - 

The power of the army increases 

Raja Golab Singh - - - - - 

Sirdar Jowahir Singh - 

Futteh Khan Towana - 

The insurrection of Cashmeera Singh and Peshawura Singh - 
Jowahir Singh - - - - - 

The attempt of Raja Soochet Singh - 

The insurrection of Sirdar Uttur Singh and Bhaee Beer 
Singh - 

The Governor of Mooltan submits - 

Ghilghit reduced - 

Heera Singh professes suspicions of the English 
The mutiny of the British Sepoys ordered to Sindh 
Discussions with the English - - - 

— about the village Mowran - 

— and about treasure buried by Soochet Singh 

Heera Singh guided by Pundit Julia, his preceptor 
Pundit Julia and Golab Singh - 

Pundit Julia irritates the Sikhs, and offends the Queen 
Mother - 

Heera Singh and Pundit Julia fly, but are overtaken and put 
to death - 

Jowahir Singh and Lai Singh attain power 
The Sikh Army moves again'st Jummoo 
Golab Singh submits, and repairs to Lahore 
Jowahir Singh formally appointed Vuzeer 
Sawun Mull of Mooltan assassinated - 
Mool Raj, his son, succeeds - 
And agrees to the terms of the Lahore Court 
The rebellion of Peshawura Singh - 
Who submits, but is put to death - 

The Sikh soldiery displeased and distrustful 
The perplexities of Jowahir Singh - 
The army condemns him, and puts him to death 
The army all-powerful - 

Lai Singh made Vuzeer, and Tej Singh Commander-in-Chief, 
in expectation of an English war 


Page 

261 

ib. 

262 

ib. 

263 
ib. 

264 
ib. 
ib. 

265 
ib. 

266 
ib. 

ib. 

267 

268 
ib. 
ib. 

269 

ib. 

ib. 

271 

272 

273 

ib 

274 
ib. 

275 

276 
ib. 
ib. 

277 
ib. 

278 
ib. 

279 
ib. 

280 

ib. 


CONTENTS. 


XXXV11 


CHAPTER IX. 


THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


1845—46. 

A. D. Page 

1845. The Indian public prepared for a war between the Sikhs and 

English - - - - - 281 

The apprehensions of the English - 282 

The fears of the Sikhs - - - - ib. 

The English advance bodies of troops towards the Sutlej, 

contrary to their policy of 1809 - - 283 

The English views about Peshawur, and their offer to support 

Sher Singh, all weigh with the Sikhs - - 285 

The Sikhs further moved by their estimate of the British 

Agent of the day - 287 

Major Broadfoot’s views and overt acts equally displeasing 

to the Sikhs - - - - ib. 

Major Broadfoot’s proceedings held to virtually denote war 289 
And Sir Charles Napier’s acts considered further proofs of 

hostile views - 291 

The Lahore Chiefs make use of the persuasion of the people 

for their own ends - - - - ib. 

And urge the Army against the English in order that it may 

be destroyed - 292 

The Sikhs cross the Sutlej - 294 

The English nevertheless mainly to blame for the war - ib. 

The Sikhs still undervalued by the English - - ib. 

The English unprepared for a campaign - - 296 

The English hasten to oppose the Sikhs - - 297 

The numbers of the Sikhs - 298 

Feerozpoor threatened but purposely not attacked - - ib. 

The objects of Lai Singh and Tej Singh - - 299 

The tactics of the Sikhs - - - ib. 

The Battle of Moodkee - - - - 301 

The Battle of P’heerooshuhur, and retreat of the Sikhs - 302 

The difficulties and apprehensions of the English - 305 

1846. The Sikhs recross the Sutlej, and threaten Loodiana - 307 

The Skirmish of Buddowal - 309 

The Sikhs encouraged, and Golab Singh induced to repair to 

Lahore - - - - - 311 

The Battle of Aleewal - - - - 312 

The Sikh Chiefs anxious to treat, and the English desirous of 

ending the war - 315 

An understanding come to, that the Sikh Army shall be 

attacked by the one, and deserted by the other - 317 

The defensive position of the Sikhs - - - ib. 


CONTENTS. 


xxxviii 


A.D. Page 

1846. The English plan of attack - - - -319 

The Battle of Subraon - 320 

The passage of the Sutlej ; the submission of the Muharaja; 

and the occupation of Lahore - - 320* 

Negotiations - - - - - 321 

Golab Singh - - - - - ib. 

Lai Singh - - - - - 322 

The Partition of the Punjab, and Independence of Golab Singh 323 
Supplementary arrangements of 1846, placing Dhuleep Singh 

under British tutelage during his minority - - 324 

The Sikhs not disheartened by their reverses - - 325 

Conclusion. The position of the English in India - - 326 

Additional Notes and Corrections - - 333 


APPENDICES. 


APPENDIX I. 

The Juts and Jats of Upper India - - - 341 


APPENDIX II. 

Proportions of Races and Faiths : Population of India - - 342 


APPENDIX III. 

The Kshutrees and Uroras of the Punjab - 345 


APPENDIX IV. 

Caste in India - - - _ _ 345 


APPENDIX V. 

The Philosophical Systems of the Indians - 348 

APPENDIX VI. 

On the Maya of the Indians 


- 351 




CONTENTS. 


XXIX 


APPENDIX VII. 

The Metaphysics of Indian Reformers - 352 


APPENDIX VIII. 

Nanuk’s Philosophical Allusions Popular or Moral rather than 
Scientific ------ 354 


APPENDIX IX. 

The Terms Raj and Jog, Deg and Tegh - 356 

APPENDIX X. 


Caste among the Sikhs - 357 


APPENDIX XI. 

Rites of Initiation into Sikhism - 359 


APPENDIX XII. 

The exclamation Wah Gooroo and the expression Deg, Tegh, 
Futteh - 3G0 


APPENDIX XIII. 

The Sikh Devotion to Steel, and the Term “Sutcha Padshah” - 361 


APPENDIX XIV. 

Distinctive Usages of the Sikhs - - - - 362 


APPENDIX XV. 

On the Use of Arabic and Sanscrit for the purposes of Education 
in India - - 363 


APPENDIX XVI. 


On the Land-Tax in India 


365 


xl 


CONTENTS. 


APPENDIX XVII. 


The Adee Grunt’h, or First Book ; or, the Book of Nanuk, the First 
Gooroo or Teacher of the Sikhs. 


Preliminary Note 

_ 


Page 

- 367 

The Jupjee (or simply the Jap) - 

- 

- 

- 368 

Sodur Reih Ras 

- 

- 

- 369 

Keerit Sohila 

_ 

. 

- ib. 

The Thirty-one Metres (or Forms of Verse) 

- 

- ib. 

The Bhog• - 

- 

- 

- 370 

Supplement to the Grunt'h 

- 

- 

- 371 


APPENDIX XVIII.] 


The Dusvven Padshah Ka Grunt’h, or, Book of the Tenth King or 
Sovereign Pontiff, i. e. of Gooroo Govind Singh. 


Preliminary Note - 

The Japjee (or simply the Jap) - 

Akal Stoot - 

The Vichitr Natuk, or Wondrous Tale 

Chundee Churitr (the greater) - 

Chundee Churitr (the lesser) - 

Chundee kee Var 

Gheian Pribodh - 

Chowpeian Chowbees Owtaran (Twenty-four Avatars) 

Mehdee JNIeer - 

Owtara (Avatars) of Bruhma 

Owtara (Avatars) of Siva - 

Shustr Nam Mala - 

Sree Mookh Vak Suweia Butees 

Huzareh Shubd - - 

Istree Churitr, or Tales of Women 

The Hikayuts, or Tales (addressed to Aurungzeb) 


- 372 

- 373 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- 374 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- 375 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- ib. 

- 376 

- ib. 


CONTENTS. 


xli 


APPENDIX XIX. 

Some Principles of Belief and Practice, as exemplified in the writings of 
the Sikh Gooroos or Teachers ; with an Addendum showing the modes 
in which the Missions of Nanuk and Govind are represented or re¬ 
garded by the Sikhs. 


God ; the Godhead - 


Page 

- 377 

Incarnations, Saints, and Prophets 

- 

- 378 

The Sikh Gooroos not to be worshipped - 

- 

- 379 

Images and the Worship of Saints 

- 

- 380 

Miracles - 

- 

- ib. 

Transmigration - 

_ 

- 381 

Faith - 

- 

- ib. 

Grace 

- 

- ib 

Predestination 

- 

- ib. 

The Yeds, the Poorans, and the Koran 

- 

- 382 

Asceticism - 

- 

- ib. 

Caste - 

- 

- 383 

Food - 


- 384 

Brahmins, Saints, etc. - 

- 

- ib. 

Infanticide - 

- 

- 385 

Suttee 


- 386 


Addendum. 

Bhaee Goordas Bhulleh’s mode of representing the Mission of 

Nanuk - 386 

Gooroo Govind’s mode of representing his own Mission - 388 

Extract from the Twenty-four Owtars and the Mehdee Meer 

of Govind’s Grunt’h - - - - 390 


APPENDIX XX. 

The Admonitory Letters of Nanuk to the fabulous Monarch Karon, 
and the Prescriptive Letters of Govind for the guidance of the Sikhs. 


Preliminary Note - - - - - 391 

The Nusseeut Nameh, or Admonition of Nanuk - - 392 

The Reply of Nanuk to Karon - 393 

The Rehet Nameh of Govind - 394 

The Tunkha Nameh of Govind - 396 

APPENDIX XXI. 

A List of Sikh Sects, or Orders, or Denominations - - 400 

C 


xlii 


CONTENTS. 


APPENDIX XXII. 

Page 

A Genealogical Table of the Sikh Gooroos or Teachers - 402 

APPENDIX XXIII. 

The Treaty with Lahore of 1806 - 403 

# 

APPENDIX XXIV. 

Sir David Ochterloney’s Proclamation of 1809 - - 404 

APPENDIX XXV. 

The Treaty with Lahore of 1809 - 406 

APPENDIX XXVI. 

Proclamation of Protection to Cis Sutlej States against Lahore, 

dated 1809 - - - » 407 

APPENDIX XXVII. 

Proclamation of Protection to Cis Sutlej States against one 

another, dated 1811 - - - -409 

APPENDIX XXVIII. 

Indus Navigation Treaty of 1832 - - - 411 

APPENDIX XXIX. 

Supplementary Indus Navigation Treaty of 1834 - - 414 

APPENDIX XXX. 

The Tripartite Treaty with Runjeet Singh and Shah Shooja of 

1838 - - - - - 417 

APPENDIX XXXI. 

Indus and Sutlej Toll Agreement of 1839 - 422 


CONTENTS. 


xliii 


APPENDIX XXXII. 

Page 

Indus and Sutlej Toll Agreement of 1840 - 423 

APPENDIX XXXIII. 

Declaration of War of 1845 - - 426 

APPENDIX XXXIV. 

First Treaty with Lahore of 1846 - 428 

APPENDIX XXXV. 

Supplementary Articles to first Treaty with.Lahore of 1846 - 433 

APPENDIX XXXVI. 

Treaty with Golab Singh of 1846 - 435 

APPENDIX XXXVII. 

Second Treaty with Lahore of 1846 - - - 437 

APPENDIX XXXVIII. 

Revenues of the Punjab in 1844 - - 442 

APPENDIX XXXIX. 

The Army of Lahore in 1844 - 416 

APPENDIX XL. 

Genealogical Tree: Lahore Family - 448 

APPENDIX XLI. 

Genealogical Tree : Jummoo Family 


- 449 











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/ 


A 

HISTORY 


or 


THE SIKHS. 


CHAPTER I. 

THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 

Geographical Limits of Sikh Occupation or Influence. — 
Climate, Productions, 8fc. of the Sikh Dominions. — 
Inhabitants, Races, Tribes. — Religions of the People. 
— Characteristics and Effects of Race and Religion. — 
Partial Migrations of Tribes. — Religious Proselytism. 

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of the 
Christian era, Nanuk and Govind, of the Kshutree race, 
obtained a few converts to their doctrines of religious 
reform and social emancipation among the Jut peasants 
of Lahore and the southern banks of the Sutlej. The 
“ Sikhs,” or “ Disciples,” have now become a nation ; 
and they occupy, or have extended their influence, from 
Delhi to Peshawur, and from the plains of Sindh to 
the Karakorum mountains. The dominions acquired 
by the Sikhs are thus included between the 28th and 
36th parallels of north latitude, and between the 71 st 
and 77th meridians of east longitude ; and if a base of 
four hundred and fifty miles be drawn from Paneeput 
to the Khyber Pass, two triangles, almost equilateral, 
B 


Geographi¬ 
cal limits. 




2 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


may be described upon it, which shall include the con¬ 
quests of Runjeet Singh and the fixed colonies of the 
Sikh people. 

climate, The country of the Sikhs being thus situated in a 
Uo°ns U &c medium degree of latitude, corresponding nearly with 
that of northern Africa and the American States, and 
consisting either of broad plains not much above the 
sea level, or of mountain ranges which rise two and 
three miles into the air, possesses every variety of cli¬ 
mate and every description of natural produce. The 
. winter of Ludakh is long and rigorous, snow covers 
the ground for half the year, the loneliness of its vast 
solitudes appals the heart, and nought living meets the 
Grain, and eye; yet the shawl-wool goat gives a value to the 
shawl wool roc ky wastes of that elevated region, and its scanty 
u a ' acres yield unequalled crops of wheat and barley, where 
the stars can be discerned at midday and the thin air 
scarcely bears the sound of thunder to the ear. # The 
heat and the dust storms of Mooltan are perhaps more 
oppressive than the cold and the drifting snows of 
Tibet; but the favorable position of the city, and the 
several overflowing streams in its neighborhood, give 


* Shawl wool is produced most 
abundantly, and of the finest quality, 
in the steppes between the Shayuk 
and the main branch of the Indus. 
About 100,000 rupees, or 10,000/. 
worth may be carried down the 
valley of the Sutlej to Loodiana 
and Delhi. (Journal Asiatic Society 
of Bengal for 1844, p. 210.) The 
importation into Cashmeer alone is 
estimated by Moorcroft ( Travels , ii. 
165.) at about 75,0001, and thus the 
Sutlej trade may represent less than 
a tenth of the whole. 

Moorcroft speaks highly of the 
cultivation of wheat and barley in 
Tibet, and he once saw a field of the 
latter grain in that country such as 
he had never before beheld, and 
which he says an English farmer 
would have ridden many miles to 
have looked at. — ( Travels, i. 269, 
280) 


The gravel of the northern 
steppes of Tibet yields gold in 
grains, but the value of the crude 
borax of the lakes surpasses, as an 
article of trade, that of the precious 
metal. 

In Yarkund an intoxicating drug 
named churrus, much used in India, 
is grown of a superior quality, and 
while opium could be taken across 
the Himalayas, the Hindoos and 
Chinese carried on a brisk traffic of 
exchange in the two deleterious 
commodities. 

The trade in tea through Tibet to 
Cashmeer and Caubul is of local im¬ 
portance. The blocks weigh about 
eight pounds, and sell for 12s. and 
16s. up to 36s. and 48s. each, ac¬ 
cording to the quality. — (Com¬ 
pare Moorcroft, Travels, i. 350, 351.) 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


3 


Chap. I.] 


an importance, the one to its manufactures of silks and 
carpets, and the other to the wheat, the indigo, and the 
cotton of its fields.* The southern slopes of the Hima¬ 
layas are periodically deluged with rain, which is almost 
unknown beyond the snow, and is but little felt in 
Mooltan or along the Indus. The central Punjab is 
mostly a bushy jungle or a pastoral waste; its rivers 
alone have rescued it from the desert, but its dryness 
keeps it free from savage beasts, and its herds of cattle 
are of staple value to the country; while the plains 
which immediately bound the hills, or are influenced by 
the Indus and its tributaries, are not surpassed in ferti¬ 
lity by any in India. The many populous towns of 
these tracts are filled with busy weavers of cotton and 
silk and wool, and with skilful workers in leather and 
wood and iron. Water is found near the surface, and 
the Persian wheel is in general use for purposes of irri¬ 
gation. Sugar is produced in abundance, and the 
markets of Sindh and Caubul are in part supplied with 
that valuable article by the traders of Amritsir, the 
commercial emporium of Northern India.t The arti- 


* The wheat of Mooltan is beard¬ 
less, and its grain is long and heavy. 
It is exported in large quantities to 
Rajpootana, and also, since the Bri¬ 
tish occupation, to Sindh to an in¬ 
creased extent. The value of the 
carpets manufactured in Mooltan 
does not perhaps exceed 50,000 ru¬ 
pees annually. The silk manufac¬ 
ture may be worth five times that 
sum, or, including that of Buhawul- 
poor, 400,000 rupees in all; but the 
demand for such fabrics has markedly 
declined since the expulsion of a 
native dynasty from Sindh. The 
raw silk of Bokhara is used in pre¬ 
ference to that of Bengal, as being 
stronger and more glossy. 

English piece-goods, (or more 
largely) cotton twists to be woven 
into cloth, have been introduced 
everywhere in India; but those 
well to do in the world can alone 
buy foreign articles, and thus while 
about eighteen tons of cotton twist 

B 


are used by the weavers of Bubawul- 
poor, about three hundred tons of 
(cleaned) cotton are grown in the 
district, and wrought up by the vil¬ 
lagers or exported to Rajpootana. 

The Lower Punjab and Buhawul- 
poor yield respectively about 750 and 
150 tons of indigo. It is worth on 
the spot from ninepence to eighteen- 
pence the pound. The principal 
market is Khorassan ; but the trade 
has declined of late, perhaps owing 
to the quantities which may be intro¬ 
duced into that country by way of the 
Persian Gulph from India. The 
fondness of the Sikhs, and of the 
poorer Mahometans of the Indus, 
for blue clothing, will always main¬ 
tain a fair trade in indigo. 

f In 1844 the customs and excise 
duties of the Punjab amounted to 
240,000/. or 250,000/., or to one 
thirteenth of the whole revenue 
of Runjeet Singh, estimated at 
3,250,000/. 

2 


Silks, in¬ 
digo, and 
cotton of 
Mooltan. 


Black cattle 
of the cen¬ 
tral Punjab. 


The Per¬ 
sian wheel 
used for 
irrigation. 

Sugar of 
the upper 
plains. 


4 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


The saffron 
and the 
shawls of 
Cashmeer. 

Rice and 
wheat of 
Peshawur. 
Drugs, dyes, 
and metals 
of the hills. 


Inhabi¬ 

tants. 


Immigra¬ 
tion of the 
Juts, and 
introduc¬ 
tion of Ma¬ 
hometan¬ 
ism. 


sans of Cashmeer, the varied productions of that famous 
valley, its harvests of saffron, and its important manu¬ 
facture of shawls, are well known and need only be 
alluded to. # The plains of Attok and Peshawur no 
longer shelter the rhinoceros which Baber delighted to 
hunt, but are covered with rich crops of rice, of wheat, 
and of barley. The mountains themselves produce 
drugs and dyes and fruits ; their precipitous sides sup¬ 
port forests of gigantic pines, and veins of copper, or 
extensive deposits of rock salt and of iron ore are 
contained within their vast outline. The many fertile 
vales lying between the Indus and Cashmeer, are per¬ 
haps unsurpassed in the East for salubrity and loveliness : 
the seasons are European, and the violent “monsoon” 
of India is replaced by the genial spring rains of tem¬ 
perate climates. 

The people comprised within the limits of the Sikh 
rule or influence, are various in their origin, their 
language, and their faith. The plains of Upper India, 
in which the Brahmins and Kshutrees had developed 
a peculiar civilization, have been overrun by Persian or 
Scythic tribes, from the age of Darius and Alexander 
to that of Baber and Nadir Shah. Particular traces 
of the successive conquerors may yet perhaps be found, 
but the main features are, 1. the introduction of the 
Mahometan creed; and 2. the long antecedent emi¬ 
gration of hordes of Juts from the plains of Upper 
Asia. It is not necessary to enter into the antiquities 
of Grecian “ Getse” and Chinese “ Yuechi,” to discuss 
the asserted identity of a peasant Jut and a moon- 
descended Yadoo, or to try to trace the blood of Kad- 
phises in the veins of Runjeet Singh. It is sufficient 
to observe that the vigorous Hindoo civilization of the 
first ages of Christianity soon absorbed its barbarous 
invaders, and that in the lapse of centuries the Juts 

* Mr. Moorcroft ( Travels, ii. 194.; be worth 75,000/. alone ( Travels , ii. 
estimates the annual value of the 165. &c.), that is, 1000 horse loads 
Cashmeer manufacture of shawls of 300 pounds, each pound being 
at 300,000/. ; but this seems a worth five shillings, 
small estimate if the raw material 


Chap. I.] 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


5 


became essentially Brahminical in language and belief. 
Along the southern Indus they soon yielded their con¬ 
science to the guidance of Islam ; those of the north 
longer retained their idolatrous faith, but they have 
lately had a new life breathed into them ; they now 
preach the unity of God and the equality of man, and, 
after obeying Hindoo and Mahometan rulers, they have 
themselves once more succeeded to sovereign power.* 
The Mussulman occupation forms the next grand epoch 
in general Indian history after the extinction of the Bood- 
hist religion; the common speech of the people has 
been partially changed, and the tenets of Mahomet are 
gradually revolutionizing the whole fabric of Indian 
society ; but the difference of race, or the savage man¬ 
ners of the conquerors, struck the vanquished even 
more forcibly than their creed, and to this day Juts 
and others talk of “ Toorks” as synonymous with op¬ 
pressors, and the proud Rajpoots not only bowed before 
the Mussulmans, but have perpetuated the remembrance 
of their servitude by adopting “ Toorkana,” or Turk 
money, into their language as the equivalent of tribute. 

In the valley of the Upper Indus, that is, in Ludakh 
and Little Tibet, the prevailing caste is the Bhotee sub¬ 
division of the great Tartar variety of the human race. 
Lower down that classical stream, or in Ghilghit and 
Chulass, the remains of the old and secluded races 
of Durdoos and Dunghers are still to be found, but 
both in Iskardo and in Ghilghit itself, there is some 
mixture of Toorkmun tribes from the wilds of Pamer 
and Kashkar. The people of Cashmeer have from 
time to time been mixed with races from the north, 
the south, and the west; and while their language is 
Hindoo and their faith Mahometan, the manners of 
the primitive Kush or Kutch tribes, have been in¬ 
fluenced by their proximity to the Tartars. The hills 
westward from Cashmeer to the Indus are inhabited by 
Kukkas and Bumbas, of whom little is known, but 

* See Appendix I. 

* b 3 


The Tartars 
of Tibet. 


The ancient 
Durdoos. 

Toorkmuns 
of Ghilghit. 

The Cash- > 
meeres 


and their 

western 

neighbours, 

Kukkas, 

Bumbas, 

Gocy'ers, &c. 


6 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


The Guk- 
kers and the 
Junjoohs. 


The Eusof¬ 
zaees, 
Afreedees, 
&c. 


Vuzeerees, 
and other 
Afghans. 


Belotches," 
Juts, and 
Raiens, of 
the Middle 
Indus. 

Juns, 
Bhuttees, 
and Ka- 
thees, of the 
central 
plains. 
Chibhs and 
Buhows of 
the lower 
hills. 


towards the river itself the Eusofzaees and other Af¬ 
ghan tribes prevail ; while there are many secluded val¬ 
leys peopled by the widely spread Goojers, whose history 
has yet to be ascertained, and who are the vassals of 
Arabian “ syeds,” or of Afghan and Toorkmun lords. 

In the hills south of Cashmeer, and west of the 
Jehlum to Attock and Kalabagh on the Indus, are 
found Gukkers, Goojers, Khatirs, Awans, Junjoohs 
and others, all of whom may be considered to have 
from time to time merged into the Hindoo stock in 
language and feelings. Of these some, as the Junjoohs 
and especially the Gukkers, have a local reputation. 
Peshawur and the hills which surround it, are peopled 
by various races of Afghans, as Eusofzaees and Mo- 
munds in the north and west, Khuleels and others in 
the centre, and Afreedees, Khuttuks and others in the 
south and east. The hills south of Kohat, and the 
districts of Tank and Bunnoo, are likewise peopled by 
genuine Afghans, as the pastoral Vuzeerees and others, 
or by agricultural tribes claiming such a descent; and, 
indeed, throughout the mountains on either side of the 
Indus, every valley has its separate tribe or family, 
always opposed in interest, and sometimes differing in 
speech and manners. Generally it may be observed, 
that, on the north, the Afghans on one side, and the 
Toorkmuns on the other, are gradually pressing upon 
the old but less energetic Durdoos, who have been already 
mentioned. 

In the districts on either side of the Indus south of 
Kalabagh, and likewise around Mooltan, the population 
is partly Belotch and partly Jut, intermixed however 
with other tribes, as Uroras and Raiens, and towards 
the mountains of Sooleeman some Afghan tribes are 
likewise to be found located. In the waste tracts be¬ 
tween the Indus and Sutlej are found Juns, Bhuttees, 
Seeals, Kurruls, Kathees, and other tribes, who are 
both pastoral and predatory, and who, with the Chibhs 
and Buhows south of Cashmeer, between the Jehlum 
and Chenab, may be the first inhabitants of the country, 


Chap. I.] 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


7 


but little reclaimed in manners by Hindoo or Mahometan 
conquerors; or one or more of them, as the Bhuttees, 
who boast of their lunar descent, may represent a tribe 
of ancient invaders or colonizers who have yielded to 
others more powerful than themselves. Indeed, there 
seems little doubt of the former supremacy of the Bhuttee 
or Bhatee race in North-western India : the tribe is 
extensively diffused, but the only sovereignty which re¬ 
mains to it is over the sands of Jeyselmeer.* The tracts 
along the Sutlej, about Pakputtun, are occupied by Wut- 
toos and Johya Rajpoots t, while lower down are found 
some of the Lungga tribe, who were once the masters 
of Ootch and Mooltan. 

The hills between Cashmeer and the Sutlej are pos¬ 
sessed by Rajpoot families, and the Mahometan invasion 
seems to have thrust the more warlike Indians, on one 
side into the sands of Rajpootana and the hills of Bun- 
delkhund, and on the other into the recesses of the 
Himalayas. But the mass of the population is a mixed 
race called Dbgras about Jummoo, and Kunets to the 
eastward, even as far as the Jumna and Ganges, and 
which boasts of some Rajpoot blood. There are, how¬ 
ever, some other tribes intermixed, as the Gudhees, 
who claim to be Kshutree, and as the Kohlees, who may 
be the aborigines, and who resemble in manners and 
habits, and perhaps in language, the forest tribes of 
Central India. Towards the snowy limits there is 
some mixture of Bhotees, and towards Cashmeer and 
in the towns there is a similar mixture of the people of 
that valley. 

* [The little chiefship of Kerowlee florish as peasants on either bank of 
between Jeypoor and Gwalior may the Sutlej, between Kussoor and Bu- 
also be added. The Raja is admit- hawulpoor: they are now Mahome- 
ted by the genealogists to be of the tans. TheDahia of Tod (i. 118.) are 
Yadoo or Lunar race, but people some- likewise to be found as cultivators and 
times say that his being an Aheer or as Mahometans on the Lower Sutlej, 
Coivherd forms his only relationship under the name of Delieh, or Daliur 
to Krishna, the pastoral Apollo of and Duhur; and they and many 
the Indians.] other tribes seem to have yielded on 

f Tod (Rajasthan, i. 118.) regards one side to Rahtor Rajpoots, and on 
the Johyas as extinct; but they still the other to Belotches. 


The Johyas 
and Lung- 
gas of the 
south. 


The Dogras 
and Kunets 
of the 
Himalayas. 


The 

Kohlees of 
the Hima¬ 
layas. 


8 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


The Juts of 
the centra] 
plains 


mixed with 
Goojers, 
Rajpoots, 
Puthans, 
and others. 


Relative 
proportions 
of some 
principal 
races. 


The central tract in the plains stretching from the 
Jehlum to Hansee, Hissar, and Paneeput, and lying to 
the north of Khooshab and the ancient Depalpoor, is 
inhabited chiefly by Juts ; and the particular country 
of the Sikh people may be said to lie around Lahore, 
Amritsir, and even Goojrat to the north of the Sutlej, 
and around Bhutinda and Soonam to the south of that 
river. The one tract is preeminently called Manjha 
or the middle land, and the other is known as Malwa, 
from, it is said, some fancied resemblance in greenness 
and fertility to the central Indian province of that 
name. Many other people are, however, intermixed, as 
Bhuttees and Doghurs, mostly to the south and west, 
and Raiens, Rors, and others, mostly in the east. Goo¬ 
jers are everywhere numerous, as are also other Raj¬ 
poots besides Bhuttees, while Puthans are found in 
scattered villages and towns. Among the Puthans 
those of Kussoor have long been numerous and power¬ 
ful, and the Rajpoots of Rahoon have a local reputa¬ 
tion. Of the gross agricultural population of this 
central tract, perhaps somewhat more than four-tenths 
may be Jut, and somewhat more than one-tenth Goojer, 
while nearly two-tenths may be Rajpoots more or less 
pure, and less than a tenth claim to be Mahometans of 
foreign origin, although it is highly probable that about 
a third of the whole people profess the Mussulman 
faith. # 

In every town and city there are, moreover, tribes of 
religionists, or soldiers, or traders, or handicraftsmen, 
and thus whole divisions of a provincial capital may be 
peopled by holy Brahmins t or as holy Syeds, by Af¬ 
ghan or Boondehla soldiers, by Kshutrees, Uroras, 


* See Appendix II. 
t In the Punjab, and along the 
Ganges, Brahmins have usually the 
appellation of Misser or Mitter, i. e. 
Mithra, given to them, if not dis¬ 
tinguished as Pundits, t. e. as doc¬ 
tors or men of learning. The title 


seems, according to tradition, or to 
the surmise of well informed native 
Indians, to have been introduced by 
the first Mahometan invaders, and it 
may perhaps show that the Brahmins 
were held to be worshippers of the 
sun by the Unitarian iconoclasts. 


Chap. I.] 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


9 


and Buneeas engaged in trade, by Cashmeeree weavers, 
and by mechanics and dealers of the many degraded or 
inferior races of Hindostan. None of these are, how¬ 
ever, so powerful, so united, or so numerous as to affect 
the surrounding rural population, although, after the 
Juts, the Kshutrees are perhaps the most influential and 
enterprising race in the country.* 

Of the wandering houseless races, the Chunggurs 
are the most numerous and the best known, and they 
seem to deserve notice as being probably the same as 
the Chinganehs of Turkey, the Russian Tzigans, the 
German Zigueners, the Italian Zingaros, the Spanish 
Gitanos, and the English Gypsies. About Delhi the 
race is called Kunjur, a word which, in the Punjab, pro¬ 
perly implies a courtezan dancing girl. 

The limits of Race and Religion are not the same, 
otherwise the two subjects might have been considered 
together with advantage. In Ludakh the people and 
the dependent rulers profess Lamaic Boodhism, which 
is so widely diffused throughout Central Asia, but the 
Tibetans of Iskardo, the Durdoos of Ghilghit, and the 
Kukkas and Bumbas of the rugged mountains, are 
Mahometans of the Sheea persuasion. The people of 
Cashmeer, of Kishtwar, of Bhimbur, of Pukhlee, and of 
the hills south and west to the salt range and the Indus, 
are mostly Soonee Mahometans, as are likewise the 
tribes of Peshawur and of the valley of the Indus south¬ 
ward, and also the inhabitants of Mooltan, and of the 
plains northward as far as Pind-Dadul-Khan, Chuneeot, 
and Depalpoor. The people of the Himalayas, east¬ 
ward of Kishtwar and Bhimbur, are Hindoos of the 
Brahminical faith, with some Boodhist colonies to the 
north, and some Mahometan families to the south west. 
The Juts of “ Manjha” and “Malwa” are mostly Sikhs, 
but perhaps not one-third of the whole population be¬ 
tween the Jehlum and Jumna has yet embraced the 


Kshutrees 
and Uroras 
of the cities. 


The wan¬ 
dering 
Chunggurs. 


The reli¬ 
gions of the 
Sikh 
country. 

The Lamaic 
Boodhists of 
Ludakh. 


The Sheea 
Mahome¬ 
tans of 
Bultee. 

The Soonee 
Mahome¬ 
tans of 
Cashmeer, 
Peshawur, 
and 

Mooltan. 
The Brah- 
minist hill 
tribes. 


The Sikhs 
of the cen¬ 
tral plains 
mixed 


* See Appendix III. 


10 


HISTORY OF TIIE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


with Brah- 
minists and 
Mahome¬ 
tans. 

Hindoo 
shopkeepers 
of Mahome¬ 
tan cities. 


Village 
population 
about Bhu- 
tinda 

purely Sikh. 


The debased 
and seclu¬ 
ded races, 
worshippers 
of local 
gods and 
oracular 
divinities. 


tenets of Nanuk and Govind, the other two-thirds being' 
still equally divided between Islam and Brahrriinism. 

In every town, excepting perhaps Leh, and in most 
of the villages of the Mahometan districts of Peshawur 
and Cashmeer and of the Sikh districts of Manjha and 
Malwa, there are always to be found Hindoo traders 
and shopkeepers. The Kshutrees prevail in the northern 
towns, and the Uroras are numerous in the province of 
Mooltan. The Cashmeeree Brahmins emulate in intelli¬ 
gence and usefulness the Mahratta Pundits and the 
Baboos of Bengal; they are a good deal employed in 
official business, although the Kshutrees and the Uroras 
are the ordinary accountants and farmers of revenue. 
In “Malwa” alone, that is, about Bliutinda and Soo- 
nam, can the Sikh population be found unmixed, and 
there it has passed into a saying, that the priest, the 
soldier, the mechanic, the shopkeeper, and the plough¬ 
man are all equally Sikh. 

There are, moreover, in the Punjab, as throughout 
India, several poor and contemned races, to whom 
Brahmins will not administer the consolations of re¬ 
ligion, and who have not been sought as converts by 
the Mahometans. These worship village or forest 
gods, or family progenitors, or they invoke a stone 
as typical of the great mother of mankind; or some 
have become acquainted with the writings of the later 
Hindoo reformers, and regard themselves as inferior 
members of the Sikh community. In the remote 
Himalayas, again, where neither Moolla nor Lama, 
nor Brahmin, has yet cared to establish himself, the 
people are equally without instructed priests and a de¬ 
terminate faith ; they worship the Spirit of each lofty 
peak, they erect temples to the limitary god of each 
snow clad summit, and believe that from time to time 
the attendant servitor is inspired to utter the divine 
will in oracular sentences, or that when the image of 
the Deitya or Titan is borne in solemn procession on 


Chap. I.] 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


11 


their shoulders, a pressure to the right or left denotes 
good or evil fortune.* 

The characteristics of race and religion are every¬ 
where of greater importance than the accidents of 
position or the achievements of contemporary genius ; 
but the influences of descent and manners, of origin 
and worship, need not be dwelt upon in all their rami¬ 
fications. The systems of Boodha, of Brumha, and of 
Mahomet, are extensively diffused in the eastern world, 
and they intimately atfect the daily conduct of millions 
of men. But, for the most part, these creeds no longer 
inspire their votaries with enthusiasm ; the faith of the 
people is no longer a living principle, but a social 
custom, — a rooted, an almost instinctive deference to 
what has been the practice of centuries. The Tibetan, 
who unhesitatingly believes the Deity to dwell incar¬ 
nate in the world, and who grossly thinks he per¬ 
petuates a prayer by the motion of a wheel, and the 
Hindoo, who piously considers his partial gods to de¬ 
light in forms of stone or clay, would indeed still resist 
the uncongenial innovations of strangers ; but the spirit 
which erected temples to Shakya the Seer from the 
torrid to the frigid zone, or which raised the Brahmins 
high above all other Indian races, and which led them 
to triumph in poetry and philosophy, is no longer to be 
found in its ancient simplicity and vigor. The Bood- 
hist and the reverer of the Veds, is indeed each satisfied 
with his own chance of a happy immortality, but he is 
indifferent about the general reception of truth, and, 
while he will not himself be despotically interfered 


* In the Lower Himalayas of the 
Punjab there are many shrines to 
Googa or Goga, and the poorer 
classes of the plains likewise reve¬ 
rence the memory of the ancient 
hero. His birth or appearance is 
variously related. One account 
makes him the chief of Ghuznee, 
and causes him to war with his 
brothers Urjoon and Soorjun. He 


was slain by them, but behold ! a 
rock opened and Googa again sprang 
forth armed and mounted. Another 
account makes him the lord of Durd- 
Durehra in the wastes of Rajwarra, 
and this corresponds in some degree 
with what Tod ( Rajasthan , ii. 447.) 
says of the same champion, who died 
fighting against the armies of Meh- 
mood. 


Character¬ 
istics of 
race and 
religion. 


Brahmin- 
ism and 
Boodhism 
rather 
forms than 
feelings; 


yet 

strong to 
resist inno¬ 
vation. 


12 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


Mahomet¬ 
anism, 
although 
corrupted, 
has more of 
vitality. 


All are 
satisfied 
with their 
own faith, 


and can¬ 
not be rea¬ 
soned into 
Chris¬ 
tianity. 


with, he cares not what may be the fate of others, or 
what becomes of those who differ from him. Even the 
Mahometan, whose imagination must not be assisted 
by any visible similitude, is prone to invest the dead 
with the powers of intercessors, and to make pilgrim¬ 
ages to the graves of departed mortals ; and we should 
now look in vain for any general expression of that 
feeling which animated the simple Arabian disciple, or 
the hardy Toorkmun convert, to plant thrones across 
the fairest portion of the ancient hemisphere. It is 
true that, in the Mahometan world, there are still many 
zealous individuals, and many mountain and pastoral 
tribes, who will take up arms, as well as become passive 
martyrs, for their faith, and few will deny that Turk, 
and Persian, and Puthan would more readily unite for 
conscience sake under the banner of Mahomet, than 
Russian, and Swede, and Spaniard are ever likely to 
march under one common “ Labarum.” The Mussul¬ 
man feels proudly secure of his path to salvation ; he 
will resent the exhortations of those whom he pities 
or contemns as wanderers, and, unlike the Hindoo and 
the Boodhist, he is still actively desirous of acquiring 
merit by adding to the number of true believers. But 
Boodhist, and Brahminist, and Mahometan, have each 
an instructed body of ministers, and each confides in 
an authoritative ritual, or in a revealed law. Their 
reason and their hopes are both satisfied, and hence the 
difficulty of converting them to the Christian faith by 
the methods of the civilized moderns. Our mission¬ 
aries, earnest and devoted men, must be content with 
the cold arguments of science and criticism ; they must 
not rouse the feelings, or appeal to the imagination ; 
they cannot promise aught which their hearers were not 
sure of before; they cannot go into the desert to fast, 
nor retire to the mountain tops to pray ; they cannot 
declare the fulfilment of any fondly cherished hope of 
the people, nor, in announcing a great principle, can 
they point to the success of the sword and the visible 


Chai\ I.] 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


13 


favor of the Divinity. No austerity of sanctitude con¬ 
vinces the multitude, and the Pundit and the Moolla can 
each oppose dialectics to dialectics, morality to morality, 
and revelation to revelation. Our zealous preachers may 
create sects among ourselves, half Quietist and half 
Epicurean, they may persevere in their laudable reso¬ 
lution of bringing up the orphans of heathen parents, 
and they may gain some converts among intelligent 
inquirers as well as among the ignorant and the indi¬ 
gent, but it seems hopeless that they should ever Chris¬ 
tianize the Indian and Mahometan worlds.* 

The observers of the ancient creeds quietly pursue 
the even tenor of their way, self satisfied and almost 
indifferent about others ; but the Sikhs are converts to 
a new religion, the seal of the double dispensation of 
Brumha and Mahomet: their enthusiasm is still fresh, 
and their faith is still an active and a living principle. 
They are persuaded that God himself is present with 
them, that He supports them in all their endeavors, 
and that sooner or later He will confound their enemies 
for His own glory. This feeling of the Sikh people 
deserves the attention of the English, both as a civilized 
nation and as a paramount government. Those who 
have heard a follower of Gooroo Govind declaim on the 
destinies of his race, his eye wild with enthusiasm and 
every muscle quivering with excitement, can under¬ 
stand that spirit which impelled the naked Arab against 
the mail clad troops of Rome and Persia, and which 
led our own chivalrous and believing forefathers through 
Europe to battle for the cross on the shores of Asia. 
The Sikhs do not form a numerous sect, yet their 

* The masses can only be con- tan Moollas at Lucknow, in Rammo- 
vinced by means repudiated by rea- hun Roy’s work on Deism and the 
son and the instructed intellect of Veds, and in the published corres- 
man, and the futility of endeavor- pondence of the Tuttubodhinee 
ing to convince the learned by argu- Subha of Calcutta. For an instance 
ment is exemplified in Martyn’s of the satisfaction of the Hindoos 
Persian Controversies translated by with their creed, see Moorcroft, 
Dr. Lee, in the discussions carried Travels, i. 118., where some Oodassees 
on between the Christian mission- commend him for believing, like 
aries at Allahabad and the Mahome- them, in a God 1 


Sikhism an 
active and 
pervading 
principle. 


14 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


The Juts 
industrious 
and high- 
spirited. 


The Raiens 
and some 
others 
scarcely 
inferior as 
tillers of the 
ground. 

The peasant 
Rajpoots. 

The Goojers 
a pastoral 
people. 

The Be- 
lotches 
pastoral and 
predatory. 


strength is not to be estimated by tens of thousands, 
but by the unity and energy of religious fervor and 
warlike temperament. They will dare much, and they 
will endure much, for the mystic “ Khalsa” or common¬ 
wealth ; they are not discouraged by defeat, and they 
ardently look forward to the day when Indians and 
Arabs, and Persians and Turks, shall all acknowledge 
the double mission of Nanuk and Govind Singh. 

The characteristics of race are perhaps more deep 
seated and enduring than those of religion; but, in con¬ 
sidering any people, the results of birth and breeding, 
of descent and instruction, must be held jointly in view. 
The Juts or Jats are known in the north and west of 
India as industrious and successful tillers of the soil, 
and as hardy yeomen equally ready to take up arms 
and to follow the plough. They form, perhaps, the 
finest rural population in India. On the Jumna their 
general superiority is apparent, and Bhurtpoor bears 
witness to their merits, while on the Sutlej religious 
reformation and political ascendancy have each served 
to give spirit to their industry and activity and purpose 
to their courage.* The Raiens, the Malees, and some 
ethers, are not inferior to the Juts in laboriousness and 
sobriety, although they are so in enterprize and resolu¬ 
tion. The Rajpoots are always brave men, and they 
form, too, a desirable peasantry. The Goojers every¬ 
where prefer pasturage to the plough, whether of the 
Hindoo or Mahometan faith. The Belotches do not 
become careful cultivators even when long settled in 
the plains, and the tribes adjoining the hills are of a 
disposition turbulent and predatory. They mostly de¬ 
vote themselves to the rearing of camels, and they tra- 


* Under the English system of 
selling the proprietary right in vil¬ 
lages when the old freeholder or 
former purchaser may be unable to pay 
the land tax, the Jats of Upper India 
are gradually becoming the possessors 
of the greater portion of the soil, a 
fact which the author first heard on 


the high authority of Mr. Thomason, 
the Lieutenant-Governor of the 
North-western Provinces. It is a 
common saying that if a Jat has fifty 
rupees, he will rather dig a well or 
buy a pair of bullocks with the 
money than spend it on the idle 
rejoicings of a marriage. 


Chap. I.] 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


15 


verse Upper India in charge of herds of that useful 
animal. The Afghans are good husbandmen when 
they have been accustomed to peace in the plains of 
India, or when they feel secure in their own valleys, 
but they are even of a more turbulent character than 
the Belotches, and they are everywhere to be met with 
as mercenary soldiers. Both races are, in truth, in 
their own country little better than freebooters, and the 
Mahometan faith has mainly helped them to justify 
their excesses against unbelievers, and to keep them to¬ 
gether under a common banner for purposes of defence 
or aggression. The Kshutrees and Uroras of the cities 
and towns are enterprizing as merchants and frugal as 
tradesmen. They are the principal financiers and ac¬ 
countants of the country ; but the ancient military spirit 
frequently reappears amongst the once royal “ Kshu¬ 
trees, M and they become able governors of provinces 
and skilful leaders of armies.* The industry and me¬ 
chanical skill of the stout-limbed prolific Cashmeerees are 
as well known as their poverty, their tameness of spirit, 
and their loose morality. The people of the hills south 
and east of Cashmeer, are not marked by any peculiar 
and well determined character, excepting that the few 
unmixed Rajpoots possess the personal courage and the 


* Hurree Singh, a Sikh, and the 
most enterprizing of Runjeet Singh’s 
generals, was a Kshutree; and the best 
of his governors, Mohkum Chund 
and Sawun Mull, were of the same 
race. The learning of Boloo Mull, 
a Khunna Kshutree, and a follower 
of the Sikh chief of Alhoowaleea, 
excites some little jealousy among 
the Brahmins of Lahore and of the 
Jalundhur Dooab; and ChundooLal, 
who so long managed the affairs of 
the Nizam of Hydrabad, was a Khu- 
tree of Northern India, and greatly 
encouraged the Sikh mercenaries in 
that principality, in opposition to the 
Arabs and Afghans. The declension 
of the Kshutrees from soldiers and 


sovereigns into traders and shop¬ 
keepers, has a parallel in the history 
of the Jews. Men of active minds 
will always find employment for 
themselves, and thus we know what 
Greeks became under the victorious 
Romans, and what they are under 
the ruling Turks. We likewise 
know that the vanquished Moors 
were the most industrious of the 
subjects of mediasval Spain; that 
the Moghuls of British India are 
gradually applying themselves to the 
business of exchange, and it is plain 
that the traffickers as well as the 
priests of Saxon England, Frankish 
Gaul, and Gothic Italy, must have 
been chiefly of Roman descent. 


The Af¬ 
ghans in¬ 
dustrious, 
but turbu¬ 
lent. 


The Kshu¬ 
trees and 
Uroras 
enterpriz¬ 
ing but 
frugal. 


The Cash¬ 
meerees 
skilful, but 
tame and 
spiritless. 


The un¬ 
mixed 
Rajpoots. 


16 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


The Tibe¬ 
tans plod¬ 
ding and 
debased. 


The custom 
of polyan¬ 
dry one of 
necessity. 


The Juns 
and Kathees 
pastoral and 
peaceful. 


pride of race which distinguish them elsewhere, and that 
the Gukkers still cherish the remembrance of the times 
when they resisted Baber and aided Humayoon. The 
Tibetans, while they are careful cultivators of their di¬ 
minutive fields rising tier upon tier, are utterly debased 
in spirit, and at present they seem incapable of indepen¬ 
dence and even of resistance to gross oppression. The 
system of polyandry obtains among them, not as a per¬ 
verse law, but as a necessary institution. Every spot of 
ground within the hills which can be cultivated, has 
been under the plough for ages ; the number of mouths 
must remain adapted to the number of acres, and the 
proportion is preserved by limiting each proprietary 
family to one giver of children. The introduction of 
Mahometanism in the west, by enlarging the views of 
the people and promoting emigration, has tended to 
modify this rule, and even among the Lamaic Tibetans 
any casual influx of wealth, as from trade or other 
sources, immediately leads to the formation of separate 
establishments by the several members of a house.* 
The wild tribes of Chihhs and Buhows in the hills, 
the Juns and Kathees, and the Doghers and Bhuttees of 
the plains, need not be particularly described; the idle 
and predatory habits of some, and the quiet pastoral oc¬ 
cupations of others, are equally the result of position as 
of character. The Juns and Kathees tall, comely, and 
long-lived races, feed vast herds of camels and black 
cattle, which furnish the towns with the prepared butter 


* Regarding the polyandry of 
Ludakh, Moorcroft ( Travels , ii. 
321, 322.) may be referred to, and also 
the Journal of the Asiatic Society of 
Bengal for 1844, p. 202. &c. The 
effects of the system on bastardy 
seem marked, and thus out of 760 
people in the little district of Hung- 
rung, around the junction of the 
Sutlej and Pittee (or Spiti) rivers, 
there were found to be 26 bastards, 
which gives a proportion of about 1 
in 29; and as few grown-up people 


admitted themselves to be illegiti¬ 
mate, the number may even be 
greater. In 1835 the population of 
England and Wales was about 
14,750,000 and the number of bas¬ 
tards affiliated (before the new poor 
law came into operation) was 65,475, 
or 1 in about 226 ( Wade's British 
History, pp. 1041—1055.); and even 
should the number so born double 
those affiliated, the proportion would 
still speak against polyandry as it 
affects female purity. 


Chap. I.] 


THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 


17 


of the east, and provide the people themselves with 
their loved libations of milk.* 

The limits of creeds and races which have been de¬ 
scribed must not be regarded as permanent. Through¬ 
out India there are constant petty migrations of the 
agricultural population taking place. Political oppres¬ 
sion, or droughts, or floods, cause the inhabitants of a 
village, or of a district, to seek more favored tracts, 
and there are always chiefs and rulers who are ready 
to welcome industrious emigrants and to assign them 
lands on easy terms. This causes some fluctuation in 
the distribution of races, and as in India the tendency 
is to a distinction or separation of families, the number 
of clans or tribes has become almost infinite. Within 
the Sikh dominions the migrations of the Belotches up 
the Indus are not of remote occurrence, while the occu¬ 
pation, by the Sindhian Daoodpotras of the Lower Sutlej, 
took place within the last hundred years. The migra¬ 
tion of the Doghers from Delhi to Feerozpoor, and of 
the Johyas from Marwar to Pakputtun, also on the 
Sutlej, are historical rather than traditional, while the 
hard-working Hindoo Mehtums are still moving, family 
by family and village by village, eastward, away from 
the Raree and Chenab, and are insinuating themselves 
among less industrious but more warlike tribes. 

Although religious wars scarcely take place among 
the Boodhists, Brahminists, and Mahometans of the 
present day, and although religious fervor has almost 
disappeared from among the professors at least of the 
two former faiths, proselytism is not unknown to any 
of the three creeds, and Mahometanism, as possessing 
still a strong vitality within it, will long continue to 
find converts among the ignorant and the barbarous. 
Islamism is extending up the Indus from Iskardo to¬ 
wards Leh, and is thus incroaching upon the more worn- 

* « On milk sustained, and blest with length of days, 

The Hippomolgi, peaceful, just, and wise.” 

Iliad, xiii, Cowper's Translation, 

c 


Partial mi¬ 
grations of 
tribes, and 
proselytism 
in religion. 
Causes of 
migrations. 


Recent mi¬ 
gration of 
the Be¬ 
lotches up 
the Indus, 
and of the 
Daood¬ 
potras up 
the Sutlej. 
Migrations 
of the 
Doghers, 
Johyas, and 
Mehtums, 


Islamism 
extending 
in Tibet; 


18 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I. 


and gene¬ 
rally per¬ 
haps in 
towns and 
cities. 

Lamaic 
Boodhism 
progressive 
in some 
parts of 
the Hima¬ 
layas. 

Brahmin- 
ism likewise 
extending 
in the 
wilder parts 
of the 
plains. 

But the 
peasantry 
and me¬ 
chanics 
generally 
are becom¬ 
ing seceders 
from Brah- 
minism. 


out Boodhism; while the limits of the idolatrous 
“ Kafirs,” almost bordering on Peshawur, are daily be¬ 
coming narrower. To the south and eastward of 
Cashmeer, Mahometanism has also had recent triumphs, 
and in every large city and in every Mussulman princi¬ 
pality in India, there is reason to believe that the reli¬ 
gion of the Arabian prophet is gradually gaining 
ground. In the Himalayas to the eastward of Kisht- 
war, the Rajpoot conquerors have not carried Brahmin- 
ism beyond the lower valleys ; and into the wilder glens, 
occupied by the ignorant worshippers of local divinities, 
the Boodhists have recently begun to advance, and 
Lamas of the red or yellow sects are now found where 
none had set foot a generation ago. Among the forest 
tribes of India the influence of the Brahmins continues 
to increase, and every Bheel, or Gond, or Kohlee who 
acquires power or money, desires to he thought a 
Hindoo rather than a “ Mletcha;” # but, on the other 
hand, the Indian laity has, during the last few hundred 
years, largely assumed to itself the functions of the 
priesthood, and although Hindooism may lose no vota¬ 
ries, Gosayens and secular Sadhs usurp the authority 
of Brahmins in the direction of the conscience. The 
Sikhs continue to make converts, but chiefly within the 
limits of their dependent sway, for the colossal power 
of the English has arrested the progress of their arms 
to the eastward, and has left the Juts of the Jumna and 
Ganges to their old idolatry. 

* Half of the principality of Bhopal, converted some of the vanquished to 
inCentral India,was founded on usurp- his own faith, partly by force and 
ations from the Gonds, who appear to partly by conferring Jagheers, partly 
have migrated in force towards the west to acquire merit and partly to soothe 
about the middle of the seventeenth his conscience, and there are now 
century, and to have made themselves several families of Mahometan Gonds 
supreme in the valley of the Nerbud- in the possession of little fiefs on 
da about Hoshungabad, in spite of either side of the Nerbudda. These 
the exertions of Aurungzeb, until an men have more fully got over the 
Afghan adventurer attacked them on gross superstition of their race, than 
the decline of the empire, and com- the Gonds who have adopted Hin- 
pletely subdued them. The Afghan dooism. 


Chap. II.] 


OLD INDIAN CKEEDS. 


19 


CHAPTER II. 

OLD INDIAN CREEDS, MODERN REFORMS, AND THE 
TEACHING OF NANUK, UP TO 1529 A. D. 

The Boodhists .— The Brahmins and Kshutrees .— Reaction 
of Boodhism on victorious Brahminism. — Latitude of 
orthodoxy. — Shunkur Acharj and Saivism. —Monastic 
orders . — Ramanooj and Vaishnuvism. — The Doctrine 
of Maya. — The Mahometan conquest. — The reciprocal 
action of Brahminism and Mahometanism. — The suc¬ 
cessive innovations of Ramanund , Gorukhnath , Kubeer , 
Cheitun , and Vullubh. — The reformation of Ndnuk. 

The condition of India from remote ages to the pre¬ 
sent time, is an episode in the history of the world in¬ 
ferior only to the fall of Rome and the establishment 
of Christianity. At an early period, the Asiatic penin¬ 
sula, from the southern “ Ghats ” to the Himalayan 
mountains, would seem to have been colonized by a 
warlike subdivision of the Caucasian race, which spoke 
a language similar to the ancient Medic and Persian, and 
which here and there, near the greater rivers and the 
shores of the ocean, formed orderly communities pro¬ 
fessing a religion resembling the worship of Babylon 
and Egypt — a creed which, under varying types, is still 
the solace of a large portion of mankind. “ Aryavurt,” 
the land of good men or believers, comprised Delhi and 
Lahore, Goojrat and Bengal; hut it was on the hanks 
of the Upper Ganges that the latent energies of the 
people first received an impulse, which produced the 
peculiar civilization of the Brahmins, and made a few 
heroic families supreme from Arachosia to the Golden 
Chersonese. India illustrates the power of Darius and 
the greatness of Alexander, the philosophy of Greece 
and the religion of China ; and while Rome was con- 


India and 
its suc¬ 
cessive 
masters. 


The Bood¬ 
hists. 


The Brah¬ 
mins and 
Kshutrees. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


20 


The Ma¬ 
hometans. 


The Chris¬ 
tians. 


Brahmin- 
ism strug¬ 
gling with 
Boodhism 
becomes 
elaborated. 


tending' with Germans and Cimbri and yielding to Goths 
and Huns, the Hindoos absorbed, almost without an 
effort, swarms of Scythic barbarians: they dispersed 
Sacse*, they enrolled Getee among their most famous 
tribes t, and they made others serve as their valiant 
defenders.’! India afterwards checked the victorious 
career of Islam, but she could not wholly resist the 
fierce enthusiasm of the Toorkmun hordes ; she became 
one of the most splendid of Mahometan empires, and 
the character of the Hindoo mind has been permanently 
altered by the genius of the Arabian prophet. The 
well-being of India’s industrious millions is now linked 
with the fate of the foremost nation of the West, and 
the representatives of Judaean faith and Roman polity 
will long wage a war of principles with the speculative 
Brahmin, the authoritative Moolla, and the hardy be¬ 
lieving Sikh. 

The Brahmins and their valiant Kshutrees had a long 
and arduous contest with that ancient faith of India, 
which, as successively modified, became famous as Bood¬ 
hism. § When Munnoo wrote, perhaps nine centuries 


* Vikrumajeet derived his title of 
Sakaree from his exploits against the 
Sacae (Sakae). The race is still per¬ 
haps preserved pure in the wilds of 
Tartary, between Yarkund and the 
Mansarawur Lake, where the Sokpos 
called Kelmaks [Calmucs] by the 
Mahometans, continue to be dreaded 
by the people of Tibet. 

f The Getae are referred to as the 
same with the ancient Chinese Yue- 
chi, and the modern Juts or Jats, 
but their identity is as yet perhaps 
rather a reasonable conclusion than a 
logical or critical deduction. 

| The four Agneekoola tribes of 
Kshutrees or Rajpoots are here al¬ 
luded to, viz. : the Chohans, Solun- 
kees, Powars (or Prumars), and the 
Purihars. The unnamed progenitors 
of these races seem clearly to have 
been invaders who sided with the 
Brahmins in their warfare, partly 
with the old Kshutrees, partly with 


increasing schismatics, and partly with 
invading Graico-Bactrians, and whose 
warlike merit, as well as timely aid 
and subsequent conformity, got them 
enrolled as “ fireborn,” in contradis-. 
tinction to the solar and lunar fa¬ 
milies. The Agneekoolas are now 
mainly found in the tract of country 
extending from Oojein to Rewah 
near Benares, and Mount Aboo is 
asserted to be the place of their mi¬ 
raculous birth or appearance. Vik- 
rumajeet, the champion of Brahmin- 
ism, was a Pdwar according to thg 
common accounts. 

§ The relative priority of Brah- 
minism and Boodhism continues to 
be argued and disputed among the 
learned. The wide diffusion at one 
period of Boodhism in India is as 
certain as the later predominance of 
Brahminism ; but the truth seems to 
be that they are of independent 
origin, and that they existed for a long 


CllAP. II.] 


OLD INDIAN CREEDS. 


21 


before Christ, when Alexander conquered, and even 
seven hundred years afterwards, when the obscure 
Fahian travelled and studied, there were kingdoms 
ruled by others than “ Aryas ; ” and ceremonial Bood- 
liism, with its indistinct apprehensions of a divinity, had 
more votaries than the monotheism of the Veds, which 
admitted no similitude more gross than fire, or air, or the 
burning sun.* During this period the genius of Hin- 


time contemporaneously; the former 
chiefly in the south-west, and the 
latter about Oude and Tirhoot. It 
is not, however, necessary to sup¬ 
pose, with M. Burnouf, that Bood¬ 
hism is purely and originally Indian. 
(Introduction a VHistoire du Budd- 
hisme Indien, Avertissement i.) Not¬ 
withstanding the probable deriva¬ 
tion of the name from the Sanscrit 
“boodee,” intelligence; or from the 
<* b5 ” or bodee,” i. e. the ficus reli- 
giosa or peepul tree. The Brah- 
minical genius gradually received 
a development which rendered the 
Hindoos proper supreme through¬ 
out the land; but their superior 
learning became of help to their 
antagonists, and Gowtum, himself a 
Brahmin or a Kshutree, would ap¬ 
pear to have taken advantage of the 
knowledge of the hierarchy to give a 
purer and more scientific form to 
Boodhism, and thus to become its 
great apostle in succeeding times. 
Of the modern faiths, Saivism per¬ 
haps most correctly represents the 
original Vedic worship. (Compare 
Wilson, As. Res., xvii. 171. See., and 
Vishnoo Poor an, Preface, lxiv.) 
Jeinism and Vaishnuvism are the 
resultants of the two beliefs in a 
Boodhish and Brahminical dress re¬ 
spectively, while Saktism still vividly 
illustrates the old superstition of the 
masses of the people, whose ignorant 
minds quailed before the dread god¬ 
dess of famine, pestilence, and death. 
The most important monument of 
Boodhism now remaining is perhaps 
the “ tope” or hemisphere, near Bhilsa 
in Central India, which it is a dis¬ 
grace to the English that they par¬ 
tially destroyed a generation ago in 

C 


search of imaginary chambers, or 
vessels containing relics, and are only 
now about to have delineated, and so 
made available to the learned. The 
numerous bas-reliefs of its singular 
stone inclosure still vividly represent 
the manners as well as the belief of 
the India of Asoka, and show that 
the Tree, the Sun, and the S’toopa 
(or “tope”) itself—apparently the 
type of Meroo or the Central Mount 
of the World— were, along with the 
impersonated Boodba, the principal 
objects of adoration at that period, 
and that the country was then partly 
peopled by a race of men wearing 
high caps and short tunics, so dif¬ 
ferent from the ordinary dress of 
Hindoos. 

* “ There seem to have been no 
images and no visible types of the 
objects of worship,” says Mr. Elphin- 
stone, in his most useful and judicious 
History (i. 73.), quoting Professor 
Wilson, Oxford Lectures, and the 
Vishnoo Pooran; while, with regard 
to fire, it is to be remembered that 
in the Old Testament, and even in 
the New, it is the principal symbol 
of the Holy Spirit. (Strauss, Life of 
Jesus, 361.) The Veds, however, al¬ 
lude to personified energies and at¬ 
tributes, but the monotheism of the 
system is not more affected by the 
introduction of the creating Brumha, 
the destroying Siva, and other minor 
powers, than the omnipotence of Je¬ 
hovah is interfered with by the hier¬ 
archies of the Jewish heaven. Yet, 
in truth, much has to be learnt with 
regard to the Veds and Vedantism, 
notwithstanding the invaluable la¬ 
bors of Colebrooke and others, and 
the useful commentary or interpreta- 
3 


Its 

achieve¬ 
ments and 
characteris¬ 
tics. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


clooism became fully developed, and the Brahmins rivalled 
the Greeks in the greatness and the variety of their 
triumphs. Epic poems show high imaginative and 
descriptive powers, and the Ramayoon and Muhabharut 
still move the feelings and affect the character of the 
people. Mathematical science was so perfect, and astro¬ 
nomical observation so complete, that the paths of the sun 
and moon were accurately measured.* The philosophy 
of the learned few was, perhaps, for the first time, firmly 
allied with the theology of the believing many, and Brah- 
minism laid down as articles of faith, the unity of God, 
the creation of the world, the immortality of the soul, 
and the responsibility of man. The remote dwellers 
upon the Ganges distinctly made known that future 
life about which Moses is silent or obscure t, and that 
unity and omnipotence of the Creator which were un¬ 
known to the polytheism of the Greek and Roman 
multitude t, and to the dualism of the Mithraic legisla¬ 


tion of Rammohun Roy. ( Asiatic Re¬ 
searches, viii.; Transactions Royal 
Asiatic Society , i. and ii. ; and Ram¬ 
mohun Roy on the Veds. ) The 
translation of the Vedant Sdr in 
Ward's Hindoos (ii. 175.), and the 
improved version of Dr. Roer ( Jour¬ 
nal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Feb. 
1845, No. 108.), may be consulted 
with advantage. If translators would 
repeat the Sanscrit terms with ex¬ 
panded meanings in English, instead 
of using terms of the scholastic or 
modern systems which seem to them to 
be equivalent, they would materially 
help students to understand the real 
doctrine of the original speculators. 

* The so called solar year in com¬ 
mon use in India takes no account of 
the precession of the equinoxes, but, 
as a sidereal year, it is almost ex¬ 
act. The revolution of the points of 
intersection of the ecliptic and equa¬ 
tor nevertheless appears to have been 
long known to the Hindoos, and 
some of their epochs were obviously 
based on the calculated period of the 
phenomenon. (Compare Mr. Davis’s 
paper in the As. Res., vol. ii. and 


Bentley’s Astronomy of the Hindoos, 

pp. 2—6. 88.) 

f One is almost more willing to 
admit that, in effect, the Jews gene¬ 
rally held Jehovah to be their God 
only, or a limitary divinity, than that 
the wise and instructed Moses (whom 
Strabo held to be an Egyptian priest 
and a Pantheist, as quoted in Volney's 
Ruins, ch. xxii. sec. 9. note) could 
believe in the perishable nature of the 
soul ; but the critical Sadducees 
nevertheless so interpreted their pro¬ 
phet, although the Egyptians his 
masters were held by Herodotus 
(Euterpe , cxxiii.) to be the first who 
defended the undying nature of the 
spirit of man. Socrates and Plato, 
with all their longings, could only 
feel assured that the soul had more of 
immortality than aught else. (Phcedo, 
Sydenham and Taylor's translation, iv. 
324.) 

| The unknown God of the Athe¬ 
nians, Fate, the avenging Nemesis, 
and other powers independent of 
Zeus or Jupiter, show the dissatis¬ 
faction of the ancient mind with the 
ordinary mythology; and unless mo- 


Chap. II.] 


OLD INDIAN CREEDS. 


23 


tors; while Vyasa perhaps surpassed Plato in keeping 
the people tremblingly alive to the punishment which 
awaited evil deeds.* The immortality of the soul was 
indeed encumbered with the doctrine of transmigra¬ 
tion t, the active virtues were perhaps deemed less meri¬ 
torious than bodily austerities and mental abstraction, 
and the Brahmin polity was soon fatally clogged with 
the dogma of inequality among men, and with the insti¬ 
tution of a body of hereditary guardians of religion, t 
The Brahmins succeeded in expelling the Boodhist 
faith from the Indian peninsula, and when Shunkur 
Acharj journeyed and disputed nine hundred years after 


dern criticism has detected interpo¬ 
lations, perhaps both Bishop Thirl- 
wall (History of Greece, i. 192. &c.) 
and Mr. Grote (History of Greece, 
i. 3. and chap. xvi. part i. generally), 
have too much disregarded the sense 
which the pious and admiring Cow- 
per gave to Homer’s occasional mode 
of using “theos.” ( Odyssey, xiv. 
with Cowper’s note, p. 48. vol. ii. 
Edition of 1802.) 

* Ritter (Ancient Philosophy, ii. 
387.) labors to excuse Plato for his 
“ inattention ” to the subject of duty or 
obligation, on the plea that the So- 
cratic system did not admit of neces¬ 
sity or of a compulsory principle. 
Bacon lies open in an inferior degree 
to the same objection as Plato, of 
underrating the importance of moral 
philosophy (compare Hallam’s Lite¬ 
rature of Europe, iii. 191. and Ma¬ 
caulay, Edinburgh Review, July, 
1837, p. 84.); and yet a strong sense 
of duty towards God is essential to 
the well-being of society, if not to 
systems of transcendental or material 
philosophy. In the East, however, 
philosophy has always been more 
closely allied to theology than in 
civilized Greece or modern Europe. 
Plato, indeed, arraigns the dead and 
torments the souls of the wicked 
(see for instance Gorgias, Syden¬ 
ham and Taylor's Translation, iv. 
451.), and practically among men 
the doctrine may be effective or suffi¬ 
cient; but with the Greek piety is 

c 


simply justice towards the gods, and 
a matter of choice or pleasure on the 
part of the imperishable human spi¬ 
rit. (Compare Schleiermacher’s In¬ 
troductions to Plato's Dialogues, p. 
181, &c., and Ritter’s Ancient Phi¬ 
losophy, ii. 374.) Nor can it be dis¬ 
tinctly said that Vyasa taught the 
principle of grateful righteousness as 
now understood to be binding on 
men, and to constitute their duty and 
obligation ; and probably the Indian 
may merely have the advantage of 
being a theological teacher instead of 
an ontological speculator. 

f The more zealous Christian 
writers on Hindoo theology seize 
upon the doctrine of transmigration 
as limiting the freedom of the will 
and the degree of isolation of the 
soul, when thus successively mani¬ 
fested in the world clouded with the 
imperfection of previous appearances. 
A man, it is said, thus becomes sub¬ 
ject to the Fate of the Greeks and 
Romans. (Compare Ward on the 
Hindoos, ii. Introductory Remarks, 
xxviii. &c.) But the soul so weighed 
down with the sins of a former ex¬ 
istence does not seem to differ in an 
ethical point of view, and as regards 
our conduct in the present life, from 
the soul encumbered with the sin of 
Adam. Philosophically, the notions 
seem equally but modes of account¬ 
ing for the existence of evil, or for 
its sway over men. 

| See Appendix IV., on “Caste.” 
4 


Brahmin- 
ism vic¬ 
torious over 
Boodhism. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


24 


Christ, a few learned men, and the inoffensive half con¬ 
forming- Jeins # , alone remained to represent the 
“ Mletchas,” the barbarians or “ gentiles ” of Hin- 
dooism. The Kshutrees had acquired kingdoms, hea¬ 
then princes had been subdued or converted, and the 
Brahmins, who ever denounced as prophets rather than 
preached as missionaries, were powerless in foreign 
countries if no royal inquirer welcomed them, or if no 
ambitious warrior followed them. Hindooism had 
Loses its attained its limits, and the victory brought with it the 
yigor. and seeds of decay. The mixture with strangers led to a 
partial adoption of their usages, and man’s desire for 
sympathy ever prompted him to seek an object of wor¬ 
ship more nearly allied to himself in nature than the 
invisible and passionless divinity.t The concession of a 
simple black stone as a mark of direction to the 
senses t, no longer satisfied the hearts or understandings 


* The modern Jeins frankly admit 
the connection of their faith with 
that of the Boodhists, and the Jeinee 
traders of Eastern Malwa claim the 
ancient “ Tope,” near Bhilsa, as vir¬ 
tually a temple of their own creed. 
The date of the general recognition 
of the Jeins as a sect is doubtful, but 
it is curious that the “ Kosh,” or vo¬ 
cabulary of Umraer Singb, does not 
contain the word Jein, although the 
word “Jin” is enumerated among the 
names of Mayadevee, the regent 
goddess of the material universe, and 
the mother of Gowtum, the Bood- 
hist patriarch or prophet. In the 
Bhagavut, again, Bowdh is repre¬ 
sented as the son of Jin, and as 
about to appear in Keekut Des, or 
Behar. 

f Mr. Elphinstone (History of 
India , i. 189.) observes that Rama and 
Krishna, with their human feelings 
and congenial acts, attracted more 
votaries than the gloomy Siva ; and I 
have somewhere noticed, I think in 
the Edinburgh Review, the truth 
well enlarged upon, viz. that the suf¬ 
ferings of Jesus materially aided the 
growth of Christianity by enlisting 
the sympathies of the multitude in 
favor of a crucified God. The bitter 


remark of Xenophanes, that if oxen 
became religious their gods would be 
bovine in form, is indeed most true 
as expressive of a general desire among 
men to make their divinities anthro¬ 
pomorphous. (Grote, History of 
Greece, iv. 523., and Thirlwall, His¬ 
tory, ii. 136.) 

| Hindoo Saivism, or the worship 
of the Lingam, seems to represent 
the compromise which the learned 
Brahmins made when they endea¬ 
vored to exalt and purify the su¬ 
perstition of the multitude, who 
throughout India continue to this 
day to see the mark of the near pre¬ 
sence of the Divinity in every thing. 
The Brahmins may thus have taught 
the mere Fetichist, that when regard¬ 
ing a simple black stone, they should 
think of the invisible ruler of the 
universe; and they may have wished 
to leave the Boodhist image wor¬ 
shippers some point of direction for 
the senses. That the Lingam is typi¬ 
cal of reproductive energy seems 
wholly a notion of later times, and 
to be confined to the few who inge¬ 
niously or perversely see recondite 
meanings in ordinary similitudes. 
(Compare Wilson, Vishnoo Poor an, 
Preface, lxiv.) 


Chap. II.] 


OLD INDIAN CREEDS. 


<Z5 


of the people, and Shunkur Acharj, who could silence 
the Bauddha materialist, and confute the infidel Char- 
vak # , was compelled to admit the worship of Virtues 
and Powers, and to allow images, as well as formless 
types, to be enshrined in temples. The “ self-existent” 
needed no longer to be addressed direct, and the ortho¬ 
dox could pay his devotions to the Preserving Vishnoo, 
to the Destroying Siva, to the Regent of the Sun, to 
Gunes, the helper of men, or to the reproductive energy 
of nature personified as woman, with every assurance 
that his prayers would be heard, and his offerings 
accepted, by the Supreme Being, t 

The old Brahmin worship had been domestic or 
solitary, and that of the Boodhists public or congre¬ 
gational ; the Brahmin ascetic separated himself from 
his fellows, but the Boodhist hermit became a coeno¬ 
bite, the member of a community of devotees; the 
Brahmin reared a family before he became an an¬ 
chorite, but the Boodhist vowed celibacy and renounced 
most of the pleasures of sense. These customs of the 
vanquished had their effect upon the conquerors, and 
Shunkur Acharj, in his endeavor to strengthen or¬ 
thodoxy, enacted the double part of St. Basil and Pope 
Honorius.t He established a monastery of Brahmin 


* Professor Wilson (Asiatic Re¬ 
searches, xvi. 18.) derives the title of 
the Charvak school from a Moonee or 
seer of that name; but the Brahmins, 
at least of Malwa, derive the distinc¬ 
tive name, both of the teacher and of 
the system, from Charoo, persuasive, 
excellent, and Vdk, speech, — thus 
making the school simply the logical 
or dialectic, or perhaps sophistical, 
as it has become in fact. The Char- 
vakites are wholly materialist, and in 
deriving consciousness from a parti¬ 
cular aggregation or condition of the 
elements of the body, they seem to 
have anticipated the physiologist Dr. 
Lawrence, who makes the brain to 
secrete thought as the liver secretes 
bile. The system is also styled the 
Varhusputya, and the name of Vri- 
husputtee, the orthodox Regent of 


the planet Jupiter, became connected 
with Atheism, say the Hindoos, owing 
to the jealousy with which the se¬ 
condary or delegated powers of Hea¬ 
ven saw the degree of virtue to which 
man was obtaining by upright living 
and a contemplation of the Divinity ; 
wherefore Vrihusputtee descended to 
confound the human understanding 
by diffusing error. ( Compare Wilson, 
As. Res., xvii. 308. and Troyer’s Z)a- 
histan, ii. 198, note. ) 

f The five sects enumerated are 
still held to represent the most or¬ 
thodox varieties of Hindooism. 

J All scholars and inquirers are 
deeply indebted to Professor Wilson for 
the account he has given of the Hindoo 
sects in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
volumes of the Asiatic Researches. 
The works, indeed, which are ab- 


Shunkur 

Achaij 

methodizes 

polytheism, 

800—1000 

A.D. 


Reaction of 
Boodhism 
on Brah- 
minism. 


Shunkur 
Achaij 
establishes 
ascetic 
orders, and 
gives pre¬ 
eminence 
to Saivism. 


26 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS 


[Chap. II. 


Ramanooj 

establishes 

other 

orders, with 
Yishnoo as a 
tutelary 
god, 

1000 — 
1200 A.D. 


ascetics; he converted the solitary “Dundee,” with his 
staff and waterpot, into one of an order, a monk or 
friar, at once coenobitic and mendicant, who lived upon 
alms and who practised chastity.* The order was 
rendered still further distinct by the choice of Siva as 
the truest type of God, an example which was soon fob 
lowed; and, during the eleventh century, Ramanooj esta¬ 
blished a fraternity of Brahmins, named after himself, 
who adopted some refined rules of conduct, who saw 
the Deity in Vishnoo, and who degraded the Supreme 
Being by attributing to him form and qualities.t A 
consequence of the institution of an order or fraternity 
is the necessity of attention to its rules, or to the in¬ 
junctions of the spiritual superior. The person of a 
Brahmin had always been held sacred. It was believed 
that a pious Boodhist could disengage his soul or attain 
to divinity even in this world; and when Shunkur 


stracted, are in the hands of many 
people in India, particularly the 
JBhuggut Mala (or History of the 
Saints) and its epitomes; but the ad¬ 
vantage is great of being able to study 
the subject with the aid of the notes 
of a deep scholar personally acquainted 
with the country. It is only to be 
regretted that Professor Wilson has 
not attempted to trace the progress 
of opinion or reform among sectaries; 
but neither does such a project ap¬ 
pear to have occurred to Mr. Ward, 
in his elaborate and valuable but 
piecemeal volumes on the Hindoos. 
Mohsun Fanee, who wrote the Da- 
bistan, has even less of sequence or 
of argument, but the observations 
and views of an intelligent, although 
garrulous and somewhat credulous 
Mahometan, who florished nearly 
two centuries ago, have nevertheless 
a peculiar value ; and Capt. Troyer’s 
careful translation has now rendered 
the book accessible to the English 
public. 

* Shunkur Acharj was a Brahmin 
of the south of India, and according 
to Professor Wilson (As. Res., xvii. 
180.), he florished during the eighth 
or ninth century; but his date is 


doubtful, and if, as is commonly said, 
Ramanooj was his disciple and sis¬ 
ter’s son, he perhaps lived a century 
or a century and a half later. He is 
believed to have established four 
muths, or monasteries, or denomina¬ 
tions, headed by the four out of his 
ten instructed disciples, who faith¬ 
fully adhered to his views. The ad¬ 
herents of these four are specially re¬ 
garded as “ Dundees,” or, including 
the representatives of the six heretical 
schools, the whole are called “ Dus- 
names.” (Compare Wilson, As. Res., 
xvii. 169. &c.) 

j- Ramanooj is variously stated to 
have lived some time between the be¬ 
ginning of the eleventh, and the end. 
of the twelfth century. (Wilson, As. 
Res., xvi. 28, note.) In Central In¬ 
dia he is understood to have told his 
uncle that the path which he, Shun¬ 
kur Acharj, had chosen, was not the 
right one; and the nephew accord¬ 
ingly seceded and established the first 
four “ sumprdaees,” or congrega¬ 
tions, in opposition to the four muths 
or arders of his teacher, and at the 
some time chose Vishnoo as the most 
suitable type of God. Ramanooj 
styled his congregation that of Sree, 


Chap. II.] 


OLD INDIAN CREEDS. 


Tt 


Acliarj rejected some of his chosen disciples for non¬ 
conformity or disobedience, he contributed to centre 
the growing feelings of reverence for the teacher solely 
upon a mortal man ; and, in a short time, it was con¬ 
sidered that all things were to be abandoned for the 
sake of the “ Gooroo,” and that to him were to be sur¬ 
rendered “ Tun, Mun, Dhun,” or body, mind, and 
worldly wealth.* Absolute submission to the spiritual 
master readily becomes a lively impression of the di¬ 
vinity of his mission ; the inward evidences of grace 
are too subtle for the understandinor of the barbaric 
convert; fixed observances take the place of sentiment, 
and he justifies his change of opinion by some material 
act of devotion.t But faith is the usual test of sincerity 
and pledge of favor among the sectarians of peaceful 
and instructed communities, and the reformers of India 
soon began to require such a declaration of mystic 
belief and reliance from the seekers of salvation. 

Philosophic speculation had kept pace in diversity 
with religious usage : learning and wealth, and an ex¬ 
tended intercourse with men, produced the ordinary 
tendency towards scepticism, and six orthodox schools 
opposed six heretical systems, and made devious at¬ 
tempts to acquire a knowledge of God by logical de¬ 
ductions from the phenomena of nature or of the 
human mind.t They disputed about the reality and 
the eternity of matter ; about consciousness and under¬ 
standing ; and about life and the soul, as separate from, 


or Lukshmee. The other three were 
successively founded by 1st, Mad- 
huv ; 2dly, by Vishnoo Swamee and 
his better known follower Vullubh ; 
and 3dly, by Nimbharuk or Nimb- 
haditya. These, although all Vaish- 
nuvees, called their assemblies or 
schools respectively after Brumha, 
and Siva, and Sunnukadik, a son of 
Brumha. (Compare Wilson, As. 
Res., xvi. 27, &c.) 

* Compare Wilson, Asiatic Re¬ 
searches, xvi. 90. 

t The reader will remember the 
fervent exclamation of Clovis, when, 
listening after a victory to the story 


of the passion and death of Christ, 
he became a convert to the faith of 
his wife, and a disciple of the ancient 
pastor of Ilheims: “ Had I been pre¬ 
sent at the head of my valiant Franks, 
I would have revenged his i njuries.” 
( Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Ro¬ 
man Empire , vi. 302.) The Maho¬ 
metans tell precisely the same story of 
Tymoor and Hosein the son of Alee : 
“ I would have hurried,” said the 
conquering Tartar, “ from remotest 
India, to have prevented or avenged 
the death of the martyred Imam.” 

J See Appendix V. 


Spiritual 
teachers or 
heads of 
orders arro¬ 
gate infalli¬ 
bility. 


Scepticism 
and heresy 
increase. 


28 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


The dogma 
of “ Maya” 
receives a 
moral appli¬ 
cation. 


General de¬ 
cline of 
Brahmin- 
ism. 


Early Arab 
incursions 
into India 
but little 
felt. 


or as identical with one another and with God. The 
results were, the atheism of some, the belief of others 
in a limitary deity, and the more general reception of 
the doctrine of “Maya” or illusion, which allows 
sensation to be a true guide on this side of the grave, 
but sees nothing certain or enduring in the constitution 
of the material world; — a doctrine eagerly adopted by 
the subsequent reformers, who gave it a moral or re¬ 
ligious application.* 

Such was the state of the Hindoo faith or polity a 
thousand years after Christ. The fitness of the original 
system for general adoption had been materially im¬ 
paired by the gradual recognition of a distinction of 
race ; the Brahmins had isolated themselves from the 
soldiers and the peasants, and they destroyed their own 
unanimity by admitting a virtual plurality of gods, and 
by giving assemblies of ascetics a preeminence over 
communities of pious householders. In a short time 
the gods were regarded as rivals, and their worshippers 
as antagonists. The rude Kshutree warrior became a 
politic chief, with objects of his own, and ready to 
prefer one hierarchy or one divinity to another; while 
the very latitude of the orthodox worship, led the mul¬ 
titude to doubt the sincerity and the merits of a body of 
ministers who no longer harmonized among themselves. 

A new people now entered the country, and a new 
element hastened the decline of corrupted Hindooism. 
India had but little felt the earlier incursions of the 
Arabs during the first and second centuries of the 
“ Hijree and when the Abbasides became caliphs, 
they were more anxious to consolidate their vast empire, 
already weakened by the separation of Spain, than to 
waste their means on distant conquests which rebellion 
might soon dismember. The Arab, moreover, was no 
longer a single-minded enthusiastic soldier, but a selfish 
and turbulent viceroy ; the original impulse given by the 
prophet to his countrymen had achieved its limit of con¬ 
quest, and Mahometanism required a new infusion of 

* See Appendix VI. 


Chap. II.] 


MODERN REFORMS. 


2Q 


faith and hardihood to enable it to triumph over the 
heathens of Delhi and the Christians of Constantinople* 
This awakening spirit was acquired partly from the 
mountain Koords, but chiefly from the pastoral Toork- 
muns, who, from causes imperfectly understood, were 
once more impelled upon the fertile and wealthy south. 
During the ninth century, these warlike shepherds be¬ 
gan to establish themselves from the Indus to the Black 
Sea, and they oppressed and protected the empire of 
Mahomet, as Goths and Vandals and their own pro¬ 
genitors had before entered and defended and absorbed 
the dominions of Augustus and Trajan. Toghrul Beg 
and Saladin are the counterparts of Stilicho and Tlieo- 
doric, and the Moollas and Syeds of Bagdad were as 
anxious for the conversion of unbelievers as the bishops 
and deacons of the Greek and Latin Churches. The 
migratory barbarians who fell upon Europe became 
Christians, and those who plundered Asia adopted, with 
perhaps greater ease and ardor, the more congenial creed 
of Islam. Their vague unstable notions yielded to the 
authority of learning and civilization, and to the majesty 
of one omnipotent God, and thus armed with religion 
as a motive, and empire as an object, the Toorks pre¬ 
cipitated themselves upon India and upon the diminished 
provinces of the Byzantine Caesars. 

Mehmood crossed the Indus in the year 1001, not 
long after Shunkur Acharj had vainly endeavored to 
arrest the progress of heresy, and to give limits to the 
diversity of faith which perplexed his countrymen. The 
Punjab was permanently occupied, and before the 
sultan’s death, Canouj and Goojrat had been overrun. 
The Ghuznevides were expelled by the Ghorees about 
1183. Bengal was conquered by these usurpers, and 
when the Eibek Toorks supplanted them in 1206, Hin- 
doostan became a separate portion of the Mahometan 
world. During the next hundred and fifty years the 
whole of India was subdued; a continued influx of 
Moghuls in the thirteenth, and of Afghans in the 
fifteenth century, added to their successive authority as 


Mahomet¬ 
anism re¬ 
ceives a 
fresh im¬ 
pulse on the 
conversion 
of the 
Toork- 
muns. 


Mehmood 
invades 
India, 
1001 A.D. 


Hindoostan 
becomes a 
separate 
portion of 
the Ma¬ 
hometan 
world under 
the Eibeks, 
1206 A.n. 


30 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


And the 
conquerors 
become 
Indianized. 


Action and 
reaction of 
Mahomet¬ 
anism and 
Brahmin- 
ism. 


rulers, gradually changed the language and the thoughts 
of the vanquished. The Khiljees and Toghluks and 
Lodees were too rude to be inquisitorial bigots ; they had 
a lawful option in tribute, and taxation was more pro¬ 
fitable, if less meritorious, than conversion. They 
adopted as their own the country which they had con¬ 
quered. Numerous mosques attest their piety and 
munificence, and the introduction of the solar instead 
of the intractable lunar year, proves their attention to 
ordinary business and the wants of agriculture.* The 
Mahometans became Indianized ; and, in the sixteenth 
century, the great Akber conceived the design of esta¬ 
blishing a national government or monarchy which 
should unite the elements of the two systems: but 
political obedience does not always denote social amalga¬ 
mation, and the reaction upon the Moslem mind perhaps 
increased that intolerance of Aurungzeb which hastened 
the ruin of the dynasty. 

The influence of a new people, who equalled or sur¬ 
passed Kshutrees in valor, who despised the sanctity of 
Brahmins, and who authoritatively proclaimed the unity 
of God and his abhorrence of images, began gradually 
to operate on the minds of the multitudes of India, and 
recalled even the learned to the simple tenets of the 
Veds, which Shunkur Acharj had disregarded. The 


* The solar, i. e. really sidereal 
year, called the “ Shuhoor Sun,” or 
vulgarly the “ Soor Sun,” that is, 
the year of (Arabic) months, was ap¬ 
parently introduced into the Deccan 
by Toghluk Shah, towards the middle 
of the fourteenth century of Christ, or 
between 1341 and 1344, and it is still 
used by the Mahrattas in all their 
more important documents, the dates 
being inserted in Arabic words writ¬ 
ten in Hindee(Mahrattee) characters. 
(Compare Prinsep’s Useful Tables, ii. 
30. who refers to a Report, by Lieut. 
Col. Jervis, on Weights and Mea¬ 
sures.) The other “ Fuslee,” or 
“ harvest ” years of other parts of 
India, were not introduced until the 


reigns of Akber and Shah Jehan, and 
they mostly continue to this day to 
be used, even by the English, in re¬ 
venue accounts. The commencement 
of each might, without much vio¬ 
lence, be adapted to the 1st July of 
any year of the Christian era, and the 
Mahometans and Hindoos could at 
the same time retain, the former the 
Hijree, and the latter the Shuk 
(Saka) and Sumbut, names of the 
months respectively. No greater de¬ 
gree of uniformity or simplicity is 
required, and the general predomi¬ 
nance of the English would render a 
measure so obviously advantageous 
of easy introduction. 


Chap. II.] 


MODERN REFORMS. 


31 


operation was necessarily slow, for the imposing system 
of powers and emanations had been adapted with much 
industry to the local or peculiar divinities of tribes and 
races, and in the lapse of ages the legislation of Munnoo 
had become closely interwoven with the thoughts and 
habits of the people. Nor did the proud distinctions 
of caste and the reverence shown to Brahmins, fail to 
attract the notice and the admiration of the barbarous 
victors. Sheklis and Syeds had an innate holiness as¬ 
signed to them, and Moghuls and Puthans copied the 
exclusiveness of Rajpoots. New superstition also 
emulated old credulity. “Peers” and “ Shuheeds,” 
saints and martyrs, equalled Krishna and Bheiruv in 
the number of their miracles, and the Mahometans 
almost forgot the unity of God in the multitude of in¬ 
tercessors whose aid they implored. Thus custom 
jarred with custom, and opinion with opinion, and while 
the few always fell back with confidence upon their re¬ 
velations, the Koran and Veds, the public mind became 
agitated, and found no sure resting-place with Brah¬ 
mins or Moollas, with Muhadeo or Mahomet.* 


* Gibbon has shown ( History, ii. 
356.) how the scepticism of learned 
Greeks and Romans proved favor¬ 
able to the growth of Christianity, 
and a writer in the Quarterly Review 
(for June, 1846, p. 116.) makes 
some just observations on the same 
subject. The cause of the scepti¬ 
cism is not perhaps sufficiently attri¬ 
buted to the mixture of the Eastern 
and Western superstitions, which took 
place after the conquests of Alexan¬ 
der, and during the supremacy of 
Rome. 

Similarly the influence of Maho¬ 
metan learning and civilization in 
moulding the European mind, seems 
to be underrated in the present day, 
although Hallam (Literature of Eu¬ 
rope, i. 90, 91. 149, 150. 157, 158. 
189, 190.) admits our obligations in 
physical, and even in mental, science ; 
and a representative of Oxford, the 
critical yet fanciful William Gray 
Sketch of English Prose Literature , 


p. 22. 37.), not only admires the 
fctions of the East, but confesses 
their beneficial effect on the Gothic 
genius. The Arabs, indeed, were 
the preservers and diffusers of that 
science or knowledge which was 
brought forth in Egypt or India, 
which was reduced to order in Greece 
and Rome, and which has been so 
greatly extended in particular direc¬ 
tions by the moderns of the West. 
The preeminence of the Mahometan 
over the Christian mind, was long 
conspicuous in the metaphysics of the 
schoolmen, and it is still apparent in 
the administrative system of Spain, 
in the common terms of astronomical 
and medicinal science, and in the 
popular songs of feudal Europe, 
which ever refer to the Arabian pro¬ 
phet and to Turks and Saracens, or 
expatiate on the actions of the Cid, a 
Christian hero with a Mussulman 
title. 

Whewell (History of Inductive 


The popular 
belief un¬ 
settled. 


36 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Ciiap. II. 


Ramanund 
establishes 
a compre¬ 
hensive 
sect at Be¬ 
nares, about 
1400 a.d. ; 


and intro¬ 
duces hero 
worship ; 

but main¬ 
tains the 
equality of 
true be¬ 
lievers be¬ 
fore God. 


The first result of the conflict was the institution, 
about the end of the fourteenth century, of a compre¬ 
hensive sect by Ramanund of Benares, a follower of the 
tenets of Ramanooj. Unity of faith or of worship had 
already been destroyed, and the conquest of the country 
by foreigners diminished unity of action among the 
ministers of religion. Learning had likewise declined, 
and poetic fancy and family tradition were allowed to 
modify the ancient legends of the “ Poorans ” or chro¬ 
nicles, and to usurp the authority of the Veds.* The 
heroic Rama was made the object of devotion to this 
new sect of the middle Ganges, and as the doctrine of 
the innate superiority of Brahmins and Kshutrees had 
been rudely shaken by the Mahometan ascendancy, Ra¬ 
manund seized upon the idea of man’s equality before 
God. He instituted no nice distinctive observances, he 
admitted all classes of people as his disciples, and he 
declared that the true votary was raised above mere 
social forms, and became free or liberated.t During 


Sciences, i. 22. 276.), in demon¬ 
strating that the Arabs did very little, 
if aught, to advance exact science, 
physical or metaphysical, and in 
likening them to the servant who 
had the talent but put it not to use, 
might yet have excused them on the 
plea that the genius of the people 
was directed to the propagation of re¬ 
ligious truth — to subjecting the Evil 
Principle to the Good in Persia, to 
restoring Monotheism in India, and 
to the subversion of gross idolatry in 
regions of Africa still untrodden by 
Europeans. [With this view of the 
English professor may be contrasted 
the opinion of Humboldt, who em¬ 
phatically says that the Arabs are to 
be regarded as the proper founders of 
the physical sciences, in the sense which 
we are now accustomed to attach to 
the term. ( Kosmos, Sabine's Trans, ii. 

212 -)] . 

* Modern criticism is not disposed 
to allow an ancient date to the Poo¬ 
rans, and doubtless the interpola¬ 
tions are both numerous and recent, 


just as the ordinary copies of the 
rhapsodies of the Rajpoot Bhat, or 
Bard, Chund, contain allusions to dy¬ 
nasties and events subsequent to Pir- 
thee Raj and Mehmood. The diffi¬ 
culty lies in separating the old from 
the new, and perhaps also objectors 
have too much lost sight of the cir¬ 
cumstance that the criticized and 
less corrupted Ramayoon and Mu- 
habharut are only the chief of the 
Poorans. They seem needlessly in¬ 
clined to reject entirely the authority 
or authenticity of the conventional 
Eighteen Chronicles, merely because 
eulogiums on modern families have 
been introduced by successive flat¬ 
terers. Nevertheless the Poorans 
must rather be held to illustrate 
modes of thought, than to describe 
historical events with accuracy. 

f Compare Dabistan, ii. 179. and 
Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 36. &c. Pro¬ 
fessor Wilson remarks (idem. p. 44., 
and also xvii. 183.), that the sects of 
Shunkur Acharj and Ramanooj in¬ 
cluded Brahmins only, and indeed 


Chap. II.] 


MODERN REFORMS. 


33 


the same century the learned enthusiast Gorukhnath 
gave popularity, especially in the Punjab, to the doc¬ 
trine of the “ Yog,” which belonged more properly as 
a theory or practice to the Boodhist faith, but which 
was equally adopted as a philosophic dogma by the fol¬ 
lowers of Vyasa and of Shakya. It was, however, held 
that in this “ Kulyoog,” or iron age, fallen man was 
unequal to so great a penance, or to the attainment of 
complete beatitude ; but Gorukh taught that intense 
mental abstraction would etherialize the body of the 
most lowly, and gradually unite his spirit with the all- 
pervading soul of the world. He chose Siva as the 
deity who would thus bless the austere perseverance of 
his votaries of whatever caste ; and, not content with the 
ordinary frontal marks of sects and persuasions, he dis¬ 
tinguished his disciples by boring their ears, whence 
they are familiarly known as the “ Kanphutta,” or ear- 
torn Joghees.* 


chiefly men of learning of that race. 
The followers of Ramanund, or the 
Vaishnuvees, were long violently op¬ 
posed to the Saivic denominations; 
so much so, according to tradition, 
that they would not, on any account, 
cross the Nerbudda river, which is 
held to be peculiarly sacred to Mu- 
hadeo or Muhes, but would rather, in 
performing a journey go round by 
its sources. 

Among the people of Central In¬ 
dia there is a general persuasion that 
the Nerbudda will one day take the 
place of the Ganges as the most holy 
of streams ; but the origin of the feel¬ 
ing is not clear, as neither is the fact 
of the consecration of the river to 
Siva. At Muheswur, indeed, there 
is a whirlpool, which, by rounding 
and polishing fallen stones, rudely 
shapes them into resemblances of a 
Lingam, and which are as fertile a 
source of profit to the resident 
priests, as are the Vaishnuvee fossil 
ammonites of a particular part of 
the Himalayas. The labors of the 
whirlpool likewise diffuse a sancti- 
tude over all the stones of the rocky 


channel, as expressed in the vernacu¬ 
lar sentence, “ Rehwa ke kunkur sub 
sunkur suman,” i. e. each stone of 
the Nerbudda (Rehwa) is divine, or 
equal to Siva. 

Muheswur was the seat of Suhesr 
B’how, or of the hundred-handed 
Kshutree king, who was slain by 
Purs Ram, of the not very far distant 
town of Nimawur opposite Hindia ; 
a probable occurrence, which was 
soon made the type, or the cause, of 
the destruction of the ancient warrior 
race by the Brahmins. 

* Compare Wilson (As. Res., xvii. 

1 83. &c.) and the Dabistan ( Tro- 
yer's Translation, i. 123. &c.). In 
the latter, Mohsun Fanee shows some 
points of conformity between the 
Joghees and the Mahometans. With 
regard to Yog, in a scientific point of 
view, it may be observed that it cor¬ 
responds with the state of abstraction 
or self-consciousness which raised the 
soul above mortality or chance, and 
enabled it to apprehend the “ true,” 
and to grasp Plato’s “ idea,” or archi- 
cal form of the world, and that neither 
Indians nor Greeks considered man 


Gorukh¬ 
nath esta¬ 
blishes a 
sect in the 
Punjab, 


and main¬ 
tains the 
equalizing 
effect of 
religious 
penance; 

but causes 
further 
diversity by 
adopting 
Siva as the 
type of 
God. 


34 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


The Veds 
and Koran 
assailed by 
Kubeer, a 
disciple of 
Ramanund, 
about 
1450 a.d. ; 


and the 
mother 
tongue of 
the people 
used as an 
instrument. 

But asce¬ 
ticism still 
upheld. 


A step was thus made, and faith and abandonment 
of the pleasures of life were held to abrogate the dis¬ 
tinctions of race which had taken so firm a hold on the 
pride and vanity of the rich and powerful. In the next 
generation, or about the year 1450, the mysterious 
weaver Kubeer, a disciple of Ramanund, assailed at 
once the worship of idols, the authority of the Koran 
and Shasters, and the exclusive use of a learned lan¬ 
guage. He addressed Mahometans as well as Hindoos, 
he urged them to call upon him, the invisible Kubeer, 
and to strive continually after inward purity. He per¬ 
sonified creation or the world as “ Maya,” or as woman, 
prolific of deceit and illusion, and thus denounced man’s 
weakness or his proneness to evil. Practically, Kubeer 
admitted outward conformity, and leant towards Rama 
or Vishnoo as the most perfect type of God. Like his 
predecessors he erringly gave shape and attributes to 
the divinity, and he further limited the application of 
his doctrines of reform, by declaring retirement from 
the world to be desirable, and the “ Sadh,” or pure or 
perfect man, the passive or inoffensive votary, to be the 
living resemblance of the Almighty. The views, how¬ 
ever, of Kubeer are not very distinctly laid down or 
clearly understood; but the latitude of usage which he 


capable, in his present imperfect con¬ 
dition, of attaining to such a degree 
of “ union with God,” or “ know¬ 
ledge of the true.” (Compare Ritter, 
Ancient Philosophy, Morrison's Trans¬ 
lation, ii. 207. 334—336., and 

Wilson, As. jRes.,xvii. 185.) Were 
it necessary to pursue the correspon¬ 
dence further, it would be found that 
Plato’s whole system is almost iden¬ 
tical, in its rudimental characteristics, 
with the schemes of Koopel and Put- 
tunjul jointly: thus, God and mat¬ 
ter are in both eternal; Muhut, or 
intelligence, or the informing spirit 
of the world, is the same with nous or 
logos, and so on. [With both God, 
that is “ Poorsh” in the one and the 
Supreme God in the other, would 
seem to be separate from the world 
as appreciable by man. It may further 


be observed, that the Sankhya system 
is divided into two schools, indepen¬ 
dent of that of Puttunjul, the first of 
which regards “ Poorsh” simply as 
life, depending for activity upon 
“adrisht,” chance or fate, while the 
second holds the term to denote an 
active and provident ruler, and gives 
to vitality a distinct existence. The 
school of Puttunjul differs from this 
latter, principally in its terminology 
and in the mode (Yog) laid down for 
attaining bliss—one of the four sub¬ 
divisions of which mode, viz., that of 
stopping the breath, is allowed to be 
the doctrine of Gorukh, but is de¬ 
clared to have been followed of old 
by Markund, in a manner more agree¬ 
able to the Veds than the practice of 
the recent Reformer.] 


Chap. IL] 


MODERN REFORMS. 


35 


sanctioned, and his employment of a spoken dialect, 
have rendered his writings extensively popular among 
the lower orders of India.* 

In the beginning of the sixteenth century the reforms 
of Ramanund were introduced into Bengal by Cheitun, 
a Brahmin of Nuddeea. He converted some Ma¬ 
hometans, and admitted all classes as members of his 
sect. He insisted upon “ Bhuktee,” or faith, as chasten¬ 
ing the most impure; he allowed marriage and secular 
occupations; but his followers abused the usual injunc¬ 
tion of reverence for the teacher, and some of them held 
that the Gooroo was to be invoked before God.t About 
the same period Vullubh Swamee, a Brahmin of Telin- 
gana, gave a further impulse to the reformation in pro¬ 
gress, and he taught that married teachers were not 
only admissible as directors of the conscience, but that 
the householder was to be preferred, and that the world 
was to be enjoyed by both master and disciple. This 
principle was readily adopted by the peaceful mercantile 
classes, and “ Gosayens,” as the conductors of family 
worship, have acquired a commanding influence over 
the industrious Quietists of the country ; but they have 

* Compare the Dabistan , ii. 184. form the principal subdivisions. ( Da - 
&c., Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 53., and bistan, ii. 193.) Asa further instance 
Ward’s Hindoos, iii. 406. Kubeer is of the fusion of feeling then, and now, 
an Arabic word, meaning the greatest, going forward, the reply of the Hin- 
and Professor Wilson doubts whether doo deist, Akamnath, to the keepers 
any such person ever existed, and con- of the Kaaba at Mecca, may be 
siders the Kubeer of Mohsun Fanee quoted. He first scandalised them 
to be the personification of an idea, or by asking where was the master of 
that the title was assumed by a Hin- the house ; and he then inquired 
doo freethinker as a disguise. The why the idols had been thrown out. 
name, however, although significant, He was told that the works of men 
is now at least not uncommon, and were not to be worshipped; where- 
perhaps the ordinary story that Ku- upon he inquired whether the temple 
beer was a foundling, reared by a itself was not reared with hands, and 
weaver, and subsequently admitted therefore undeserving of respect, 
as a disciple by Ramanund, is suffi- ( Dabistan , ii. 117.) 
ciently probable to justify his iden- f For an account of Cheitun and 
tity. His body is stated to have his followers, compare Wilson, Asi - 
been claimed both by the Hindoos atic Researches, xvi. 109. &c., and 
and Mahometans, and Mohsun Fanee Ward on the Hindoos, iii. 467. &c. ; 
observes that many Mahometans be- and for some apposite remarks on 
came Byraghees, i. e. ascetics of the Bhuktee or faith, see Wilson, As. 
modern Vaishnuvee sect, of which the Res., xvii. 312. 
followers of Ramanund and Kubeer 

D 2 


Cheitun 
preaches 
religious 
reform in 
Bengal, 
1500— 
1550 a.d. 
Insists upon 
the efficacy 
of faith, 

and admits 
of secular 
occupations. 

Vullubh 
extends the 
reformation 
to the 
south, 

and further 
discounte¬ 
nances celi¬ 
bacy, about 
1550 a.d. 


36 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


Recapitu¬ 

lation. 


The re¬ 
forms par¬ 
tial, and 
leading to 
sectarian¬ 
ism only. 


Nanuk’s 
views more 
comprehen¬ 
sive and 
profound. 


N&nuk’s 
birth and 
early life, 
1469 a.d. 


at the same time added to the diversity of the prevailing 
idolatry by giving preeminence to Bala Gopal, the infant 
Krishna, as the very God of the Universe.* 

Thus, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, the 
Hindoo mind was no longer stagnant or retrogressive ; 
it had been leavened with Mahometanism, and changed 
and quickened for a new development. Ramanund and 
Gorukh had preached religious equality, and Cheitun 
had repeated that faith levelled caste. Kubeer had 
denounced images, and appealed to the people in their 
own tongue, and Vullubh had taught that effectual de¬ 
votion was compatible with the ordinary duties of the 
world. But these good and able men appear to have 
been so impressed with the nothingness of this life, that 
they deemed the amelioration of man’s social condition 
to be unworthy of a thought. They aimed chiefly at 
emancipation from priestcraft, or from the grossness of 
idolatry and polytheism. They formed pious associa¬ 
tions of contented Quietists, or they gave themselves up 
to the contemplation of futurity in the hope of ap¬ 
proaching bliss, rather than called upon their fellow 
creatures to throw aside every social as well as re¬ 
ligious trammel, and to arise a new people freed from 
the debasing corruption of ages. They perfected forms 
of dissent rather than planted the germs of nations, and 
their sects remain to this day as they left them. It was 
reserved for JVdnuk to perceive the true principles of 
reform, and to lay those broad foundations which 
enabled his successor Govind to fire the minds of his 
countrymen with a new nationality, and to give prac¬ 
tical effect to the doctrine that the lowest is equal with 
the highest, in race as in creed, in political rights as in 
religious hopes. 

Nanuk was born in the year 1469, in the neighbour- 

* See Wilson, Asiatic Researches , ing to Saivism, see also Wilson, As. 
xvi. 85. &c.; and for an account of Res., xvi. 100. (See also Appendix 
the corresponding Vaishnuvee sect of VII., for some remarks on the Meta- 
Madhuv, which has, however, a lean- physics of Indian Reformers.) 


Chap. II.] 


37 


TEACHING OF NANUK. 


hood of Lahore.* His father, Kaloo, was a Hindoo of 1469— 

7 7 1529 

the Behdee subdivision of the once warlike Kshutrees, t 
and he was, perhaps, like most of his race, a petty trader 
in his native village.t Nanuk appears to have been 
naturally of a pious disposition and of a reflecting mind, 
and there is reason to believe that in his youth he made 
himself familiar with the popular creeds both of the 
Mahometans and Hindoos, and that he gained a general 
knowledge of the Koran and of the Brahminical Shas- 
ters.t His good sense and fervid temper left him 
displeased with the corruptions of the vulgar faith, and 
dissatisfied with the indifference of the learned, or with 


* Nanuk is generally said to have 
been born in Tulwundee, a village on 
the Ravee above Lahore, which was 
held by one Raee Bhooa, of the 
Bhuttee tribe. (Compare Malcolm, 
Sketch of the Sikhs, p. 78., and Forster, 
Travels, i. 292-3.) But one manu¬ 
script account states that, although 
the father of Nanuk was of Tulwun¬ 
dee, the teacher himself was born in 
Kanakatch, about fifteen miles south¬ 
erly from Lahore, in the house of his 
mother’s parents. It is indeed not 
uncommon in the Punjab for women 
to choose their own parents’ home as 
the place of their confinement, espe¬ 
cially of their first child, and the chil¬ 
dren thus born are frequently called 
Nanuk (or Nanukee, in the femi¬ 
nine), from Nankeh, one’s mother’s 
parents. Nanuk is thus a name of 
usual occurrence, both among Hin¬ 
doos and Mahometans, of the poor or 
industrious classes. The accounts 
agree as to the year of Nanuk’s birth, 
but differ, while they affect precision, 
with regard to the day of the month 
on which he was born. Thus one 
narrative gives the 13th, and another 
the 18th, of the month Kartik, of the 
year 1526 of Vikrumajeet, which cor¬ 
responds with the latter end of 1469 
of Christ. 

f In the Seir ool Mutakhereen 
( Briggs' Translation, i. 110.) it is 
stated that Nanuk’s father was a 
grain merchant, and in the Dabistan 
(ii. 247.) that Nanuk himself was a 

D 


grain factor. The Sikh accounts are 
mostly silent about the occupation of 
the father, but they represent the 
sister of Nanuk to have been mar¬ 
ried to a corn factor, and state that he 
was himself placed with his brother- 
in-law to learn, or to give aid, in car¬ 
rying on the business. 

| A manuscript compilation in 
Persian mentions that Nanuk’s first 
teacher was a Mahometan. The Seir 
ool Mutakhereen (i. 110.) states that 
Nanuk was carefully educated by one 
Syed Hussun, a neighbour of his 
father’s, who conceived a regard for 
him, and who was wealthy but child¬ 
less. Nanuk is further said, in the 
same book, to have studied the most 
approved writings of the Mahome¬ 
tans. According to Malcolm ( Sketch , 
p. 14.), Nanuk is reported, by the 
Mahometans, to have learnt all earthly 
sciences from Khizzer, i. e. the pro¬ 
phet Elias. The ordinary Maho¬ 
metan accounts also represent Nanuk, 
when a child, to have astonished his 
teacher, by asking him the hidden 
import of the first letter of the alpha¬ 
bet, which is almost a straight stroke 
in Persian and Arabic, and which is 
held even vulgarly to denote the 
unity of God. The reader will re¬ 
member that the apocryphal gospels 
state how Christ, before he was twelve 
years old, perplexed his instructors, 
and explained to them the mystical 
significance of the alphabetical cha¬ 
racters, (Strauss, Life of Jesus, i. 272.) 
3 


38 


HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


1469— 

1529. 


The mental 
struggles of 
Nanuk. 


the refuge which they sought in the specious abstrac¬ 
tions of philosophy; nor is it improbable that the 
homilies of Kubeer and Gorukh had fallen upon his 
susceptible mind with a powerful and enduring effect.* 
In a moment of enthusiasm the ardent inquirer aban¬ 
doned his home, and strove to attain wisdom by penitent 
meditation, by study, and by an enlarged intercourse 
with mankind, t He travelled, perhaps, beyond the 
limits of India, he prayed in solitude, he reflected on 
the Veds and on the mission of Mahomet, and he 
questioned with equal anxiety the learned priest and the 
simple devotee about the will of God and the path to 
happiness.! Plato and Bacon, Des Cartes and Algha- 


* Extracts or selections from the 
writings of Kubeer, appear in the 
Adee Grunt’h, and Kubeer is often, 
and Gorukh sometimes, quoted or 
referred to. 

f A chance meeting with some 
Fukeers (Malcolm, Sketch, p. 8. 
13.) and the more methodical in¬ 
structions of a Dervish ( Dabistan , ii. 
247.), are each referred to as having 
subdued the mind of Nanuk, or as 
having given him the impulse which 
determined the future course of his 
life. In Malcolm may be seen those 
stories which please the multitude, to 
the effect that although Nanuk, when 
the spirit of God was upon him, be¬ 
stowed all the grain in his brother-in- 
law’s stores in charity, they were 
nevertheless always found replenished; 
or that Dowlut Khan Lodee, the em¬ 
ployer of Nanuk’s brother-in-law, 
although aware that much had really 
been given away, nevertheless found 
everything correct on balancing the 
accounts of receipts and expenditure. 

The Sikh accounts represent Na¬ 
nuk to have met the Emperor Baber, 
and to have greatly edified the adven¬ 
turous sovereign by his demeanor 
and conversation, while he perplexed 
him by saying that both were kings, 
and were about to found dynasties of 
ten. I have traced but two allusions 
to Baber by name, and one by obvious 
inference, in the Adee Grunt’h, viz. 
in the Assa Rag and Teilung por¬ 


tions, and these bear reference simply 
to the destruction of a village, and to 
his incursions as a conqueror. Moh- 
sun Fanee ( Dabistan , ii. 249.) pre¬ 
serves an idle report that Nanuk, 
being dissatisfied with the Afghans, 
called the Moghuls into India. 

f Nanuk is generally said to have 
travelled over the whole of India, to 
have gone through Persia, and to have 
visited Mecca (compare Malcolm, 
Sketch, p. 16. and Forster, Travels, i. 
295-6.) ; but the number of years he 
employed in wandering, and the date 
of his final return to his native pro¬ 
vince, are alike uncertain. He had 
several companions, among whom 
Merdana, the rubabee or harper 
(or rather a chaunter, and player 
upon a stringed instrument like a 
guitar), Lehna, who was his succes¬ 
sor, Bala, a Sindhoo Jut, and Ram 
Das, styled Boodha or the Ancient, 
are the most frequently referred to. 
In pictorial representations Merdana 
always accompanies Nanuk. When 
at Mecca, a story is related that 
Nanuk was found sleeping with his 
feet towards the temple, that he was 
angrily asked how he dared to disho¬ 
nor the house of the Lord, and that 
he replied. Could he turn his feet 
where the house of God was not? 
(Malcolm, Sketch of the Sikhs, p. 159.) 
Nanuk adopted, sometimes at least, 
the garb of a Mahometan Dervish, 
and at Mooltan he visited an assem- 



CUAP. II.] 


39 


TEACHING OF NANUK. 


zali, examined the current philosophic systems of the 
world, without finding a sure basis of truth for the 
operations of the intellect; and, similarly, the heart of 
the pious Nanuk sought hopelessly for a resting-place 
amid the conflicting creeds and practices of men. All 
was error, he said; he had read Korans and Poorans, 
but God he had nowhere found.* He returned to his 
native land, he threw aside the habit of an ascetic, he 
became again the father of his family, and he passed 
the remainder of his long life in calling upon men to 
worship the One Invisible God, to live virtuously, and 
to be tolerant of the failings of others. The mild de¬ 
meanor, the earnest piety, and persuasive eloquence of 
Nanuk, are ever the themes of praise, and he died at 
the age of seventy, leaving behind him many zealous 
and admiring disciples.t 

Nanuk combined the excellencies of preceding re¬ 
formers, and he avoided the more grave errors into 
which they had fallen. Instead of the circumscribed 
divinity, the anthropomorphous God of Ramanund and 


1469— 

1529. 


He becomes 
a teacher. 


Dies, aged 
seventy, 
1539 a.d. 

The excel¬ 
lencies of 
Nanuk’s 
doctrine. 


bly of Mussulman devotees, saying he 
was but as the stream of the Ganges 
entering the ocean of holiness. (Com¬ 
pare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 21. and the 
Seir ool Mutakhereen , i. 311.) 

* There is current a verse imputed 
to Nanuk, to the effect that — 

“ Several scriptures and books had he 
read, 

But one (God) he had not found : 
Several Korans and Poorans had he 
read, 

But faith he could not put in any.” 

The A dee Grunt’h abounds with pas¬ 
sages of a similar tenor, and in the 
supplemental portion, called the Rut- 
tun Mala, Nanuk says, “ Man may 
read Veds and Korans, and reach to 
a temporary bliss, but without God 
salvation is unattainable.” 

f The accounts mostly agree as to 
the date of Nanuk’s death, and they 
place it in 1596 of Vikrumajeet, or 
1539 of Christ. A Goormookhee ab¬ 
stract states precisely, that he was a 
teacher for seven years, five months, 

D 


and seven days, and that he died on 
the 10th of the Hindoo month Asowj. 
Forster ( Travels, i. 295.) represents 
that he travelled for fifteen years. 
Nanuk died^ at Kurtarpoor, on the 
Ravee, about forty miles above La¬ 
hore, where there is a place of wor¬ 
ship sacred to him. He left two 
sons, Sreechund, an ascetic, whose 
name lives as the founder of the Hin¬ 
doo sect of Oodassees, and Lutchmee 
Das, who devoted himself to pleasure, 
and of whom nothing particular is 
known. The Nanukpotras, or de¬ 
scendants of N&nuk, called also Sahib- 
zadas, or sons of the master, are every 
where reverenced among Sikhs, and 
if traders, some privileges are con¬ 
ceded to them by the chiefs of their 
country. Molisun Fanee observes 
(Dabistan,ii. 253.), that the represen¬ 
tatives of Nanuk were known as 
Kurtarees, meaning, perhaps, rather 
that they were held to be holy or de¬ 
voted to the service of God, than that 
they were simply residents of Kur¬ 
tarpoor. 

4 



40 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


1469— 

1529. 


The god¬ 
head. 


Maho¬ 
metans and 
Hindoos 
equally 
called on to 
worship 
God in 
truth. 

Faith, grace, 
and good 
works all 
necessary. 


Kubeer, he loftily invokes the Lord as the one, the 
sole, the timeless being; the creator, the self-existent, 
the incomprehensible, and the everlasting. He likens 
the Deity to Truth, which was before the world began, 
which is, and which shall endure for ever, as the ulti¬ 
mate idea or cause of all we know or behold.* He 
addresses equally the Moolla and the Pundit, the Der¬ 
vish and the Soonyassee, and tells them to remember 
that Lord of Lords who had seen come and go number¬ 
less Mahomets, and Vishnoos, and Sivas.t He tells 
them that virtues and charities, heroic acts and gathered 
wisdom, are nought of themselves, that the only know¬ 
ledge which availeth is the knowledge of God t ; and 
then, as if to rebuke those vain men who saw eternal 
life in their own act of faith, he declares that they 
only can find the Lord on whom the Lord looks with 
favor. § Yet the extension of grace is linked with the 
exercise of our will and the beneficent use of our 
faculties. God, said Nanuk, places salvation in good 


* See the Adee Grunt'h, in, for in¬ 
stance, the portion called Gowree 
Rag, and the prefatory Jup, or prayer 
of admonition and remembrance. 
Compare also Wilkins, Asiatic Re¬ 
searches, i. 289. &c. 

“ Akalpoorik,” or the Timeless Be¬ 
ing, is the ordinary Sikh appellation 
of God, corresponding idiomatically 
with the “ Almighty,” in English. 
Yet Govind, in the Second Grunt’h 
(Huzara Shubd portion), apostro¬ 
phizes Time itself as the only true 
God, for God was the first and the 
last, the being without end, &c. 

Milton assigns to time a casual or 
limited use only, and Shakspeare 
makes it finite :— 

“ For time, though in eternity applied 
To motion, measures all things dur¬ 
able 

By present, past, and future.” 

Paradise Lost, v. 

“ But thought’s the slave of life, and 
life, time’s fool; 


And time, that takes survey of all 
the world. 

Must have a stop.” 

Henry IV. Part First, v. 4. 
Three of the modern philosophis¬ 
ing schools of India, viz. a division of 
the Sankhyas, the Pauraniks, and the 
Saivas, make Kal, or time, one of 
the twenty-seven, or thirty, or thirty- 
six component essences or phenomena 
of the universe of matter and mind, 
and thus give it distinct functions, or 
a separate existence. 

j- A passage of Nanuk’s in the 
supplement to the Adee Grunt’h, 
after saying that there have been 
multitudes of prophets, teachers, and 
holy men, concludes thus :— 

“ The Lord of Lords is the One God, 
the Almighty God himself; 

Oh Nanuk ! his qualities are be¬ 
yond comprehension.” 

f See the Adee Grunt'h, towards 
the end of the portion called Assa. ' 
§ See the Adee Grunt'h, end of the 
Assa Rag, and in the supplementary 
portion called the Ruttun Mala. 



Chap. II.] 


41 


TEACHING OF NANTJK. 


works and uprightness of conduct: the Lord will ask 
of man, “ What has he done : 99 * * * § — and the teacher 
further required timely repentance of men, saying, “ If 
not until the day of reckoning the sinner abaseth him¬ 
self, punishment shall overtake him.” t 

Nanuk adopted the philosophical system of his coun¬ 
trymen, and regarded bliss as the dwelling of the soul 
with God after its punitory transmigrations should have 
ceased. Life, he says, is as the shadow of the passing 
bird, but the soul of man is, as the potter’s wheel, ever 
circling on its pivot, t He makes the same uses of the 
current language or notions of the time on other 
subjects, and thus says, he who remains bright amid 
darkness (Unjun), unmoved amid deceit (Maya), that 
is, perfect amid temptation, should attain happiness. § 
But it would be idle to suppose that he speculated upon 
being, or upon the material world, after the manner of 
Plato or Vyasa || ; and it would be unreasonable to 
condemn him because he preferred the doctrine of a suc¬ 
cession of habiliments, and the possible purification of the 
most sinful soul, to the resurrection of the same body, 
and the pains of everlasting fire.* Nanuk also referred 


* The Adee Grunt'h, Purbliatee 
Raginee. Compare Malcolm ( Sketch, 
p. 161.) and Wilkins (As. Res., i. 
289. &c.). 

t See the Nusseeut Narneh, or ad¬ 
monition of Nanuk to Karon, a fabu¬ 
lous monarch, which, however, is not 
admitted into the Grunt’h, perhaps 
because its personal or particular ap¬ 
plication is not in keeping with the 
abstract and general nature of that 
book. Neither, indeed, is it certainly 
known to be Nanuk’s composition, 
although it embodies many of his no¬ 
tions. 

| Adee Grunt'h, end of the Assa 
Rag. 

§ Adee Grunt'h, in the Sohee and 
RamkuUee portions. 

|| See Appendix VIII. 

The usual objection of the Ma¬ 
hometans to the Hindoo doctrine of 
transmigration, is, that the wicked 
soul of this present world has no re¬ 


membrance of its past condition and 
bygone punishments, and does not, 
therefore, bring with it any inherent 
incentive to holiness. The Maho¬ 
metans, however, do not show that a 
knowledge of the sin of Adam, and 
consequent corruption of his posterity, 
is instinctive to a follower of Christ 
or to a disciple of their own prophet; 
and, metaphysically, an impartial 
thinker will perhaps prefer the Brah¬ 
min doctrine of a soul finally sepa¬ 
rated from the changeable matter of 
our senses, to the Egyptian scheme 
of the resurrection of the corruptible 
body,—a notion which seems to have 
impressed itself on the Israelites not¬ 
withstanding the silence of Moses, 
and which resisted for centuries the 
action of other systems, and which 
was at length revived with increased 
force in connection with the popular 
belief in miracles. See also note f 
|>. 23. anti. 


1469— 

1529. 


Nanuk 
adopts the 
Brahmini- 
cal philo¬ 
sophy ; but 
in a popular 
sense, or by 
way of illus¬ 
tration 
only. 



42 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


1469— 

1529. 


Nanuk ad¬ 
mits the 
mission of 
Mahomet 
as well as 
the Hindoo 
incarna¬ 
tions. 


Disclaims 

miraculous 

powers. 


Discourages 

asceticism. 


to the Arabian prophet, and to the Hindoo incarnations, 
not as impostors and the diffusers of evil, but as having 
truly been sent by God to instruct mankind, and he 
lamented that sin should nevertheless prevail. He as¬ 
serted no special divinity, although he may possibly 
have considered himself, as he came to be considered 
by others, the successor of these inspired teachers of 
his belief, sent to reclaim fallen mortals of all creeds 
and countries within the limits of his knowledge. He 
rendered his mission applicable to all times and places, 
yet he declared himself to be but the slave, the humble 
messenger of the Almighty, making use of universal 
truth as his sole instrument.* He did not claim for 
his writings, replete as they were with wisdom and devo¬ 
tion t, the merit of a direct transcription of the words 
of God ; nor did he say that his own preaching required 
or would be sanctioned by miracles, t “ Fight with no 
weapon,” said he, “ save the word of God; a holy 
teacher hath no means save the purity of his doctrine.” § 
He taught that asceticism or abandonment of the world 
was unnecessary, the pious hermit and the devout 
householder being equal in the eyes of the Almighty ; 


* The whole scope of Nanuk’s 
teaching is that God is all in all, and 
that purity of mind is the first of 
objects. He urges all men to prac¬ 
tise devotion, and he refers to past 
prophets and dispensations as being 
now of no avail, but he nowhere at¬ 
tributes to himself any superiority 
over others. He was a man among 
men, calling upon his fellow creatures 
to live a holy life. (Compare the 
Dabistan, ii. 249, 250. 253. ; and see 
Wilson, As. Res., xvii. 234., for the 
expression^ 4 Nanuk thy slave is a free¬ 
will offering unto thee.”) 

j- The Mahometan writers are loud 
in their praises of Nanuk’s writings. 
(Compare the Seir ool Mutukhereen, 
i. 110, 111., and the Dabistan, ii. 
251, 252.) 

With these sober views of the 
Orientals may be contrasted the opi¬ 
nion of the European Baron Hugel, 
who says ( Travels, p. 283.), that the 


Grunt’h is “ a compound of mystical 
absurdities.” He admits, however, 
that the Sikhs worship one God, 
abhor images, and reject caste, at 
least in theory. 

j: See particularly the Sirree Rag 
chapter of the Adee Grunt’h. In the 
Majh Var portion, Nanuk says to a 
pretender to miracles, “ Dwell thou 
in flame uninjured, remain unharmed 
amid eternal ice, make blocks of stone 
thy food, spurn the solid earth before 
thee with thy foot, weigh the heavens 
in a balance, and then ask thou that 
Nanuk perform wonders ! ” 

Strauss (Life of Jesus, ii. 237.) 
points out that Christ censured the 
seeking for miracles (John, iv. 48.), 
and observes that the apostles in their 
letters do not mention miracles at 
all. 

§ Malcolm, Sketch , pp. 20, 21. 
165. 



Chap. II.] 


TEACHING OF NANUK. 


43 


but he did not, like his contemporary Vullubh, express 
any invidious preference for married teachers, although 
his own example showed that he considered every one 
should fulfil the functions of his nature.* In treating 
the two prominent external observances of Hindoos and 
Mahometans, veneration for the cow and abhorrence of 
the hog, he was equally wise and conciliatory, yielding 
perhaps something to the prejudices of his education as 
well as to the gentleness of his disposition. “ The 
rights of strangers,” said he, “ are the one the ox, and 
the other the swine, but ‘ Peers 9 and ‘ Gooroos ’ will 
praise those who partake not of that which hath 
life.” t 

Thus Nanuk extricated his followers from the accu¬ 
mulated errors of ages, and enjoined upon them de¬ 
votion of thought and excellence of conduct as the 
first of duties. He left them, erect and free, unbiassed 
in mind and unfettered by rules, to become an increasing 
body of truthful worshippers. His reform was in its 
immediate effect religious and moral only; believers 
were regarded as “ Sikhs” or disciples, not as subjects; 
and it is neither probable, nor is it necessary to suppose, 
that he possessed any clear and sagacious views of 



* Adee Grunt'h, particularly the 
Assa Raginee and Ramkullee Raginee. 
(Compare the Dabistan, ii. 271.) 

f Adee Grunt'h, Majh chapter. 
Compare Malcolm ( Sketch, p. 36. 
note, and p. 137.), where it is said 
Nanuk prohibited swine’s flesh ; but, 
indeed, the flesh of the tame hog had 
always been forbidden to Hindoos. 
(Munnoo’s Institutes, v. 19.) The 
Dabistan (ii. 248.) states that Nanuk 
prohibited wine and pork, and him¬ 
self abstained from all flesh : but, in 
truth, contradictory passages about 
food may be quoted, and thus Ward 
( On the Hindoos , iii. 466.) shows that 
Nanuk defended those who eat flesh, 
and declared that the infant which 
drew nurture from its mother lived 
virtually upon flesh. The author of 
the Goor Rutnaolee pursues the idea, 
in a somewhat trivial manner indeed, 


by asking whether man does not take 
woman to wife, and whether the 
holiest of books are not bound with 
the skins of animals 1 

The general injunctions of Nanuk 
haVe sometimes been misinterpreted 
by sectarian followers and learned 
strangers, to mean “great chariness 
of animal life,” almost in a mere 
ceremonial sense. (Wilson, As. Res., 
xvii. 233.). But the Sikhs have no 
such feeling, although the Jeins and 
others carry a pious regard for worms 
and flies to a ludicrous extent — a 
practice which has reacted upon at 
least some families of Roman Catho¬ 
lic Christians in India. Those in 
Bhopal reject, during Lent, the use of 
unrefined sugar, an article of daily 
consumption, because, in its manufac¬ 
ture, the lives of many insects are 
necessarily sacrificed! 


1469— 

1529. 


Concilia¬ 
tory be¬ 
tween Ma¬ 
hometans 
and Hin¬ 
doos. 


Nanuk fully 
extricates 
his follow¬ 
ers from 
error. 

But his 

reformation 

necessarily 

religious 

and moral 

only. 


44 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. II. 


1469— 

1529. 


Nanuk left 
his Sikhs or 
disciples 
without 
new social 
laws as a 
separate 
people. 


But 
guarded 
against 
their nar¬ 
rowing into 
a sect. 


Nanuk de¬ 
clares 
Unggud to 
be his suc¬ 
cessor as a 
teacher of 
men. 


social amelioration or of political advancement. He 
left the progress of his people to the operation of time ; 
for his congregation was too limited and the state of 
society too artificial, to render it either requisite or pos¬ 
sible for him to become a municipal law-giver, to sub¬ 
vert the legislation of Munnoo, or to change the im¬ 
memorial usages of tribes or races.* His care was 
rather to prevent his followers contracting into a sect, 
and his comprehensive principles narrowing into mon¬ 
astic distinctions. This he effected by excluding his 
son, a meditative and perhaps bigoted ascetic, from the 
ministry when he should himself be no more ; and, as 
his end approached, he is stated to have made a trial 
of the obedience or merits of his chosen disciples, and 
to have preferred the simple and sincere Lehna. As 
they journeyed along, the body of a man was seen 
lying by the way side. Nanuk said, “Ye who trust 
in me, eat of this food.” All hesitated save Lehna; 
he knelt and uncovered the dead, and touched without 
tasting the flesh of man ; but, behold ! the corpse had 
disappeared and Nanuk was in its place. The Gooroo 
embraced his faithful follower, saying he was as himself, 
and that his spirit would dwell within him.t The 


* Malcolm ( Sketch , pp. 44. ] 47.) 
says, Nanuk made little or no 
alteration in the civil institutions of 
the Hindoos, and Ward ( Hindoos, 
iii. 463.) says, the Sikhs have.no 
written civil or criminal laws. Si¬ 
milar observations of dispraise or 
applause might be made with regard 
to the code of the early Christians, 
and we know the difficulties under 
which the apostles labored, owing 
to the want of a new declaratory law, 
or owing to the scruples and preju¬ 
dices of their disciples. ( Acts, xv. 20. 
28, 29. and other passages.) The 
seventh of the articles of the Church 
of England, and the nineteenth chap¬ 
ter of the Scottish Confession of 
Faith, show the existing perplexity 
of modern divines, and, doubtless, it 
will long continue to be disputed 


how far Christians are amenable to 
some portions of the Jewish law, and 
whether Sikhs should wholly reject 
the institutions of Munnoo and the 
usages of race. There were Juda- 
izing Christians and there are Brah- 
minizing Sikhs; the swine was a 
difficulty with one, the cow is a diffi¬ 
culty with the other; and yet the 
greatest obstacle, perhaps, to a com¬ 
plete obliteration of caste, is the 
rooted feeling that marriages should 
properly take place only between 
people of the same origin or nation, 
without much reference to faith. 
(Compare Ward on the Hindoos, iii. 
459. ; Malcolm, Sketch, p. 157. note ; 
and Forster’s Travels, i. 293. 295. 
308). 

f This story is related by various 
Punjabee compilers, and it is given 



Chap. II.] 


TEACHING OF NANUK, 


45 


name of Lehna was changed to Ung-i-Khood, or Ung- i 469 —- 
gad, or own body *, and whatever may be the founda- ^ 152 9, 
tion of the story or the truth of the etymology, it is 1 
certain that the Sikhs fully believe the spirit of Nanuk 
to have been incarnate in each succeeding Gooroo. f 
Unggud was acknowledged as the teacher of the 
Sikhs, and Sree Chund, the son of Nanuk, justified 
his father’s fears, and became the founder of the Hin¬ 
doo sect of “ Oodassees,” a community indifferent to 
the concerns of this world, t 


with one of the variations by Dr. 
Macgregor, in his History of the 
Sikhs (i. 48.). In the Dabistdn 
(ii. 268, 269.) there is a story of a 
similar kind about the successive 
sacrifice in the four ages of a cow, a 
horse, an elephant, and a man. The 
pious partakers of the flesh of the last 
offering were declared to be saved, 
and the victim himself again ap¬ 
peared in his bodily shape. 

* Compare Malcolm, Sketch of the 
Sikhs, p. 24, note. 


f This belief is an article of faith 
with the Sikhs. Compare the Dabis- 
tan (ii. 253, 281.). The Gooroo 
Hur Govind signed himself “ Nanuk” 
in a letter to Mohsun Fanee, the 
author of that work. 

| For some account of the Oodas¬ 
sees, see Wilson, Asiatic Researches , 
xvii. 232. The sect is widely dif¬ 
fused ; its members are proud of 
their connection with the Sikhs, and 
all reverence, and most possess and 
use, the Grunt’h of Nanuk. 


Note. — For many stories regarding Nanuk himself, which it has not been 
thought necessary to introduce into the text or notes, the curious reader 
may refer with profit to Malcolm's Sketch , to the second volume of the 
Dabistdn , and to the first volume of Dr. Macgregor’s recently published 
History. 




46 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


CHAPTEK III. 

THE SIKH GOOROOS OR TEACHERS, AND THE MODIFI¬ 
CATION OF SIKHISM UNDER GOYIND. 

1529—1716. 

Gooroo Unggud. — Gooroo Ummer Das and the Oodassee 
Sect. — Gooroo Dam Das. — Gooroo Arjoon. — The 
First Grunth and Civil Organization of the Sikhs. — 
Gooroo Hur Govind and the military ordering of the 
Sikhs. — Gooroo 'Hur Raee. — Gooroo Hurkishen. — 
Gooroo Tegh Buhadur. — Gooroo Govind , and the 
Political Establishment of the Sikhs. — Bunda Byraghee 
the temporal successor of Govind. — The Dispersion of the 
Sikhs. 

1529— Nanuk died in 1539j and he was succeeded by the 
155 2, Unggud of his choice, a Kshutree of the Teehun subdi- 
Uno-gud up- Yls ^ on °f ^e race, who himself died in 1552, at Kud- 
hoids the door, near Goindwal, on the Beeas river. Little is 
cipiesof nn re ^ atec ^ °f his ministry, except that he committed to 
Nanuk. writing much of what he had heard about Nanuk 
Dies 1552 . from the Gooroo’s ancient companion Bala Sindhoo, as 
well as some devotional observations of his own, which 
were afterwards incorporated in the “ Grunt’h ” But 
Unggud was true to the principles of his great teacher, 
and, not deeming either of his own sons worthy to 
succeed him, he bestowed his apostolic blessing upon 
Ummer Das, an assiduous follower.* 


* Unggud was born, according to 
most accounts, in 1561 Sumbut, or 
1504 a.d., but according to others 
in 1567 (or 1510 a.d.). His death is 
usually placed in 1609 Sumbut 
(1552 a. d.), but sometimes it is 


dated a year earlier, and the Sikh 
accounts affect a precision as to days 
and months which can never gain 
credence. Forster ( Travels, i. 296.) 
gives 1542, perhaps a misprint for 
1552, as the period of his death. 


Chap. III.] 


THE SIKH GOOROOS. 


47 


Ummer Das was likewise a Kshutree, but of the \ 5 5 b 7 2 ~ 
Bhulleh subdivision. He was active in preaching and t . 

successful in obtaining converts, and it is said that he ummer Das 
found an attentive listener in the tolerant Akber. The succeeds * 
immediate followers of Sree Chund, the son of Nanuk, 
had hitherto been regarded as almost equally the dis¬ 
ciples of the first teacher with the direct adherents of 
Unggud ; but Ummer Das declared passive and recluse 
“ Oodassees 99 to be wholly separate from active and 
domestic “ Sikhs,” and thus finally preserved the infant Separates 
church or state from disappearing as one of many the* 
sects.* In the spirit of Nanuk he likewise pronounced Oodassees. 
that the “true Suttee was she whom grief and not 
flame consumed, and that the afflicted should seek con¬ 
solation with the Lord ; 99 thus mildly discountenancing His views 
a perverse custom, and leading the way to amendment 
by persuasion rather than by positive enactment.t 
Ummer Das died in 1574, after a ministration of about Dies 1574 . 
twenty-two years and a half.t He had a son and a 
daughter, and it is said that his delight with the uni¬ 
form filial love and obedience of the latter, led him to 
prefer her husband before other disciples, and to bestow 
upon him his “ Burkut” or apostolic virtue. The 
fond mother, or ambitious woman, is further stated to 
have obtained an assurance from the Gooroo that the 
succession should remain with her posterity. 

Ram Das, the son-in-law of Ummer Das, was a Ram Das 
Kshutree of the Sodhee subdivision, and he was worthy 


* Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 27.) says 
distinctly that Ummer Das made 
this separation. The Dabistan (ii. 
271.) states generally that the Goo- 
roos had effected it, and in the present 
day some educated Sikhs think that 
Arjoon first authoritatively laid down 
the difference between an Oodassee 
and a genuine follower of Nanuk. 

f The Adee Grunt'h , in that part 
of the Soohee chapter which is by 
Ummer Das. Forster ( Travels, i. 
309.) considers that Nanuk prohibited 
Suttee, and allowed widows to marry; 


but Nanuk did not make positive 
laws of the kind, and perhaps self- 
sacrifice was not authoritatively inter¬ 
fered with, until first Akber and 
Jehangheer (Memoirs of Jehangheer, 
p. 28.), and afterwards the English, 
endeavored to put an end to it. 

| The accounts agree as to the 
date of Ummer Das’s birth, placing it 
in 1 566 Sumbut, or 1509 a. d. The 
period of his death, 1631 Sumbut, or 
1574 a. n., seems likewise certain, 
although one places it as late as 1580 

A. D. 


48 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1574— 

1581. 

t ■ 

blishes him¬ 
self at 
Amritsir. 


Dies 1581. 


Arfoon suc¬ 
ceeds and 
fairly grasps 
the idea of 
Nanuk. 


Makes 
Amritsir 
the “ Holy 


of his master’s choice and of his wife’s affection. He is 
said to have been held in esteem by Akber, and to have 
received from him a piece of land, within the limits of 
which he dug a reservoir, since well known as Amritsir, 
or the pool of immortality; but the temples and sur¬ 
rounding huts were at first named Ramdaspoor, from 
the founder.* Ram Das is among the most revered of 
the Gooroos, but no precepts of wide application, or 
rules of great practical value or force, are attributed to 
him. His own ministry did not extend beyond seven 
years, and the slow progress of the faith of Nanuk 
seems apparent from the statement that at the end of 
forty-two years his successor had not more than double 
that number of disciples or instructed followers.t 

Arjoon succeeded his father in 1581, and the wishes 
of his mother, the daughter of Ummer Das, were thus 
accomplished, t Arjoon was perhaps the first who 
clearly understood the wide import of the teachings of 
Nanuk, or who perceived how applicable they were to 
every state of life and to every condition of society. 
He made Amritsir the proper seat of his followers, the 
centre which should attract their worldly longings for a 


* Malcolm, Sketch, p. 29. ; Fors¬ 
ter, Travels, i. 297. ; the Dabis- 
tan, ii. 275. The Sikh accounts 
state that the possession of Akber’s 
gift was disputed by a Byraghee, 
who claimed the land as the site of 
an ancient pool dedicated to Ram- 
chunder, the tutelary deity of his 
order; but the Sikh Gooroo said 
haughtily he was himself the truer 
representative of the hero. The 
Byraghee could produce no proof; 
but Ram Das dug deep into the 
earth, and displayed to numerous 
admirers the ancient steps of the 
demi-god’s reservoir! 

- f Such seems to be the meaning 
of the expression, “ He held holy con¬ 
verse with eighty-four Sikhs,” used 
by Bhaee Kanh Singh in a manu¬ 
script compilation of the beginning 
of this century. 

ltam Das’s birth is placed in 1581 


Sumbut, or 1524 a. d., his marriage 
in 1542 a. d. ; the founding of Am¬ 
ritsir in 1577 a. d., _and his death in 
1581 A.D. 

| It seems doubtful whether Ram 
Das had two or three sons, Pirt’hee 
Chund (or Bhurrut Mull or Dheer- 
mull), Arjoon, and Muhadeo, and 
also whether Arjoon was older or 
younger than Pirt’hee Chund. It is 
more certain, however, that Pirt’hee 
Chund claimed the succession on the 
death of his brother, if not on the 
death of his father, and he was also 
indeed accused of endeavoring to 
poison Arjoon. (Compare Malcolm, 
Sketch, p. 30. and the Dabistan, ii. 
273.) The descendants of Pirt’hee 
Chund are still to be found in the 
neighborhood of the Sutlej, espe¬ 
cially at Kot Hur Suhaee, south of 
Feerozpoor. 



CnAp. IIT.] 


SIKH GOOROOS ; ARJOON. 


49 


material bond of union; and the obscure hamlet, with 
its little pool, has become a populous city and the 
great place of pilgrimage of the Sikh people.* Arjoon 
next arranged the various writings of his predecessors t; 
he added to them the best known, or the most suitable, 
compositions of some other religious reformers of the 
few preceding centuries, and completing the whole with 
a prayer and some exhortations of his own, he declared 
the compilation to be preeminently the “ Grunt’h,” or 
Book ; and he gave to his followers their fixed rule of 
religious and moral conduct, with an assurance that 
multitudes even of divine Brahmins had wearied them¬ 
selves with reading the Veds, and had found not the 
value of an oil-seed within them, t The Gooroo next 
reduced to a systematic tax the customary offerings of 
his converts or adherents, who, under his ascendancy, 
were to be found in every city and province. The Sikhs 
were bound by social usage, and disposed from reve¬ 
rential feelings, to make such presents to their spiritual 
guide ; but the agents of Arjoon were spread over the 
country to demand and receive the contributions of the 
faithful, which they proceeded to deliver to the Gooroo 
in person at an annual assembly. Thus the Sikhs, says 
the almost contemporary Mohsun Fanee, became ac¬ 
customed to a regular government. § Nor was Arjoon 
heedless of other means of acquiring wealth and influ¬ 
ence ; he despatched his followers into foreign coun¬ 
tries to be as keen in traffic as they were zealous in 


* The ordinary Sikh accounts 
represent Arjoon to have taken up 
his residence at Amritsir; but he 
lived for some time at least at Tur- 
run Tarun, which lies between that 
city and the junction of the Beeas 
and Sutlej. (Compare the Dabistan, 
ii. 275.) 

f Malcolm, Sketch, p. SO. General 
tradition and most writers attribute 
the arrangement of the First Grunt’h 
to Arjoon; but Unggud is under¬ 
stood to have preserved many ob¬ 
servations of Nanuk, and Forster 


( Travels , i. 297.) states that Ram 
Das compiled the histories and pre¬ 
cepts of his predecessors, and an¬ 
nexed a commentary to the work. 
The same author, indeed ( Travels, i. 
296, note), also contradictorily assigns 
the compilation to Unggud. 

j: Adee Grunt'h , in that portion 
of the Soohee chapter written by 
Arjoon. For some account of the 
Adee, or First Grunt’h, see Ap¬ 
pendix I. 

§ The Dabistan , ii. 270. &c. Com¬ 
pare Malcolm, Sketch , p. 30. 


1581— 
1606. 


City ” of the 
Sikhs. 


Compiles 
the Adee 
Grunt’h. 


Reduces 
customary 
offerings to 
a systematic 
tax or tithe; 


and en¬ 
gages in 
traffic. 


50 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


LChap. III. 


1581— 

1606. 

__ i 

y 


Arjoon pro¬ 
vokes the 
enmity of 
Chundoo 
Shah. 


Becomes a 
partizan of 
Prince 
Khoosroo in 
rebellion. 

Imprison¬ 
ment and 
death of 
Arjoon, 
1606. 


belief, and it is probable that his transactions as a 
merchant were extensive, although confined to the 
purchase of horses in Toorkistan.* 

Arjoon became famous among pious devotees, and 
his biographers dwell on the number of saints and holy 
men who were edified by his instructions. Nor was 
he unheeded by those in high station, for he is said to 
have refused to betroth his son to the daughter of 
Chundoo Shah, the finance administrator of the Lahore 
provincet; and he further appears to have been sought 
as a political partizan, and to have offered up prayers 
for Khoosroo, the son of Jehangheer, when in rebellion 
and in temporary possession of the Punjab. The 
Gooroo was summoned to the emperor’s presence, and 
fined and imprisoned at the instigation chiefly, it is said, 
of Chundoo Shah, whose alliance he had rejected, and 
who represented him as a man of a dangerous am¬ 
bition. t Arjoon died in 1606, and his death is be¬ 
lieved to have been hastened by the rigors of his 


* The ordinary Sikh accounts are 
to this effect. Compare the Dabistan, 
ii. 271. 

f Compare Forster, Travels, i. 298. 
The Sikh accounts represent that 
the son of Arjoon was mentioned 
to Chundoo as a suitable match for 
his daughter, and that Chundoo 
slightingly objected, saying, Arjoon, 
although a man of name and wealth, 
was still a beggar, or one who re¬ 
ceived alms. This was reported to 
Arjoon ; he resented the taunt, and 
would not be reconciled to the 
match, notwithstanding the personal 
endeavours of Chundoo to appease 
him and bring about the union. 

Shah is a corrupted suffix to names, 
extensively adopted in India. It is 
a Persian word signifying a king, 
but applied to Mahometan Fukeers 
as Muharaja is used by or towards 
Hindoo devotees. It is also used 
to denote a principal merchant, or as 
a corruption of Sahoo or Sahookar, 
and it is further used as a name or 
title, as a corruption of Sah or 


Suhaee. The Gond converts to Ma¬ 
hometanism on the Nerbudda all add 
the word Shah to their names. 

J Dabistan, ii. 272, 273. The Sikh 
accounts correspond sufficiently as to 
the fact of the Gooroo’s arraignment, 
while they are silent about his 
treason. They declare the emperor 
to have been satisfied of his sanctity 
and innocence (generally), and at¬ 
tribute his continued imprisonment 
to Chundoo’s malignity and dis¬ 
obedience of orders. ( Compare Mal¬ 
colm, Sketch, p. 32.) Mohsun Fanee 
also states that a Mahometan saint of 
Thunehsir was banished by Jehan¬ 
gheer (for aiding Khoosroo with his 
prayers. (Dabistan, ii. 273.) The 
emperor himself simply states ( Me¬ 
moirs ,, p. 88.), that at Lahore he im¬ 
paled seven hundred of the rebels, 
and on his way to that city he 
appears ( Memoirs, p. 81.) to have 
bestowed a present on Shekh Nizam 
of Thunehsir; but he may have sub¬ 
sequently become aware of his hos¬ 
tility. 



Chap. III.] 


SIKH GOOROOS ; ARJOON. 


51 


confinement; but his followers piously assert that, i58i— 

having* obtained leave to bathe in the river Ravee, he t 1606 ‘ 
vanished in the shallow stream, to the fear and wonder 
of those guarding him.* 

During the ministry of Arjoon the principles of Diffusion of 
Nanuk took a firm hold on the minds of his followers t, Slkhism * 
and a disciple named Goor Das, gives a lofty and 
imaginative view of the mission of that teacher. He The writ-; 
regards him as the successor of Vyasa and Mahomet, JjoorDas * 
and as the destined restorer of purity and sanctity ; Bhuiieh. 
the regenerator of a world afflicted with the increasing 
wickedness of men, and with the savage contentions of 
numerous sects. He declaims against the bigotry of 
the Mahometans and their ready resort to violence; he 
denounces the asceticism of the Hindoos, and he urges 
all men to abandon their evil ways, to live peacefully 
and virtuously, and to call upon the name of the one 
true God to whom Nanuk had borne witness. Arjoon 
is commonly said to have refused to give these writings 
of his stern but fervid disciple a place in the Grunt’h, 
perhaps as unsuited to the tenor of Nanuk’s exhor¬ 
tations, which scarcely condemn or threaten others. 

The writings of Goor Das are, indeed, rather figura¬ 
tive descriptions of actual affairs, than simple hymns 
in praise of God; but they deserve attention as ex¬ 
pounding Nanuk’s object of a gradual fusion of Maho¬ 
metans and Hindoos into common observers of a new 
and a better creed, and as an almost contemporary Nanuk be- 
instance of the conversion of the noble but obscure idea com ? the 
of an individual into the active principle of a multitude, pulses of a 
and of the gradual investiture of a simple fact with the people; 
gorgeous mythism of memory and imagination. The 


* Compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 33.; 
the Dabistan, ii. 272-3.; and Forster, 
Travels , i. 298. 

1553 a. d. seems the most probable 
date of Arjoon’s birth, although one 
account places it as late as 1565 a. d. 
Similarly 1663 Sumbut, or 1015 


Hijree, or 1606 a. d., seems the most 
certain date of his death. 

f Mohsun Fanee observes (Dabis- 
tan, ii. 270.), that in the time of 
Arjoon Sikhs were to be found every¬ 
where throughout the country. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


52 


1606— 

1645. 


and his 
real history 
a mythical 
narrative. 


Hur Govind 
becomes 
Gooroo 
after a dis¬ 
puted suc¬ 
cession. 


unpretending Nanuk, the deplorer of human frailty 
and the lover of his fellow men, becomes, in the mind 
of Goor Das and of the Sikh people, the first of hea¬ 
venly powers and emanations, and the proclaimed in¬ 
strument of God for the redemption of the world ; and 
every hope and feeling of the Indian races is appealed 
to in proof or in illustration of the reality and the 
splendor of his mission. # 

On the death of Arjoon, his brother Pirthee Chund 
made some attempts to be recognized as Gooroo, for 
the only son of the deceased teacher was young, and 
ecclesiastical usage has everywhere admitted a latitude 
of succession. But some suspicion of treachery towards 
Arjoon appears to have attached to him, and his nephew 
soon became the acknowledged leader of the Sikhs, 
although Pirthee Chund himself continued to retain a 
few followers, and thus sowed the first fertile seeds of 
dissent, or elements of dispute or of change, which ever 
increase with the growth of a sect or a system.t Hur 
Govind was not, perhaps, more than eleven years of age 
at his father’s death, but he was moved by his followers 
to resent the enmity of Chundoo Shah, and he is re¬ 
presented either to have procured his condemnation by 


* The work of Bhaee Goor Das 
Bhulleh, simply known as such, or as 
the Gnyan Rutnaolee (Malcolm, 
Sketch , p. 30. note) is much read by 
the Sikhs. It consists of forty chap¬ 
ters, and is written in different kinds 
of verse. Some extracts may be seen 
in Appendix XIX. and in Malcolm, 
Sketch, p. 152. &c. Goor Das was 
the scribe of Arjoon, but his pride 
and haughtiness are said to have dis¬ 
pleased his master, and his compo¬ 
sitions were refused a place in the 
sacred book. Time and reflection— 
and the Sikhs add a miracle—made 
him sensible of his failings and in¬ 
feriority, and Arjoon perceiving his 
contrition, said he would include his 
writings in the Grunt’h. But the 
final meekness of Goor Das was such, 
that he himself declared them to be 
unworthy of such association ; where¬ 


upon Arjoon enjoined that all Sikhs 
should nevertheless read them. He 
describes Arjoon (Malcolm, Sketch, 
p. 30. note) to have become Gooroo 
without any formal investiture or 
consecration by his father, which may 
further mark the commanding cha¬ 
racter of that teacher. 

Malcolm ( Sketch, p. 32.) appears 
to confound Chundoo Shah (or 
Dhunnee Chund) with Goor Das. 

| Malcolm, Sketch, p. 30. and 
Dabistan, ii. 273. These sectaries 
were called Meena, a term commonly 
used in the Punjab, and which is 
expressive of contempt or oppro¬ 
brium, as stated by Molisun Fanee. 
The proneness to sectarianism among 
the first Christians was noticed and 
deprecated by Paul. (1 Corinthians, 
i. 10—13.) 


Chap. III.] 


SIKH GOOROOS ; HUR GOVIND. 


53 


the emperor, or to have slain him by open force without 1606- 
reference to authority. 5 * Whatever may be the truth t J * a 
about the death of Chundoo and the first years of Hur chundoo 
Govind’s ministry, it is certain that, in a short time, he shah slain 
became a military leader as well as a spiritual teacher, death. 
Nanuk had sanctioned or enjoined secular occupations, HurGovind 
Arjoon carried the injunction into practice, and the im- suu^and 
pulse thus given speedily extended and became general, becomes a 
The temper and the circumstances of Hur Govind both ™adS 7 
prompted him to innovation ; he had his father’s death 
to move his feelings, and in surpassing the example of 
his parent, even the jealous dogma of the Hindoo law, 
which allows the most lowly to arm in self-defence, 
may not have been without its influence on a mind 
acquainted with the precepts of Munnoo.t Arjoon 
trafficked as a merchant and played his part as a priest 
in affairs of policy; but Hur Govind grasped a sword, 
and marched with his devoted followers among the 
troops of the empire, or boldly led them to oppose 
and overcome provincial governors or personal enemies. 

Nanuk had himself abstained from animal food, and 
the prudent Arjoon endeavoured to add to his saintly fication of 
merit or influence by a similar moderation ; but the ad- Sikhism * 
venturous Hur Govind became a hunter and an eater 
of flesh, and his disciples imitated him in these robust 
practices.^ The genial disposition of the martial apostle 
led him to rejoice in the companionship of a camp, in 
the dangers of war, and in the excitements of the chase, 
nor is it improbable that the policy of a temporal chief 
mingled with the feelings of an injured son and with 
the duties of a religious guide, so as to shape his acts 
to the ends of his ambition, although that may not 
have aimed at more than a partial independence under 

* Compare Forster, Travels, i. Munnoo’s injunction had long be- 
298. ‘ come obsolete in such matters, espe- 

f For this last supposition, see cially under the Mahometan supre- 
Malcolm, Sketch, pp. 44. 189. There macy. 

is perhaps some straining after \ The Dahistdn, ii. 248. and Mal- 
nicety of reason in the notion, as colm, Sketch, p. 36. 



54 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1606— 

1645. 


and com¬ 
plete sepa¬ 
ration of 
the Sikhs 
from Hin¬ 
doo dis¬ 
senters. 

Hur Govind 
falls under 
the dis¬ 
pleasure of 
Jehangheer; 


is im¬ 
prisoned. 


and re¬ 
leased. 


the mild supremacy of the son of Akber. Hur Govind 
appears to have admitted criminals and fugitives among 
his followers, and where a principle of antagonism had 
already arisen, they may have served him zealously 
without greatly reforming the practice of their lives ; 
and, indeed, they are stated to have believed that the 
faithful Sikh would pass unquestioned into heaven.* 
He had a stable of eight hundred horses ; three hundred 
mounted followers were constantly in attendance upon 
him, and a guard of sixty matchlock-men secured the 
safety of his person, had he ever feared or thought 
of assassination, t The impulse which he gave to the 
Sikhs was such as to separate them a long way from 
all Hindoo sects, and after the time of Hur Govind the 
“ disciples” were in little danger of relapsing into the 
limited merit or utility of monks and mendicants.^ 

Hur Govind became a follower of the Emperor Je¬ 
hangheer, and to the end of his life his conduct partook 
as much of the military adventurer as of the enthusi¬ 
astic zealot. He accompanied the imperial camp to 
Cashmeer, and he is at one time represented as in holy 
colloquy with the religious guide of the Moghul, and 
at another as involved in difficulties with the emperor 
about retaining for himself that money which he should 
have disbursed to his troops. He had, too, a multitude 
of followers, and his passion for the chase, and fancied 
independence as a teacher of men, may have led him to 
offend against the sylvan laws of the court. The em¬ 
peror was displeased, the fine imposed on Arjoon had 
never been paid, and Hur Govind was placed as a 
prisoner on scanty food in the fort of Gwalior. But 
the faithful Sikhs continued to revere the mysterious 
virtues or the real merits of their leader. They flocked 
to Gwalior, and bowed themselves before the walls 
which restrained their persecuted Gooroo, till at last 
the prince, moved, perhaps, as much by superstition 
as by pity, released him from confinement. § 

* The Dabistdn, ii. 284. 286. { See Appendix IX. 

f The Dabistdn, ii. 277. § Compare the Dabistdn , ii. 273, 


Chap. III.] 


SIKH GOOROOS ; HUR GOVIND. 


55 


On the death of Jehangheer in 1628, Hur Govind 
continued in the employ of the Mahometan government, 
but he appears soon to have been led into a course of 
armed resistance to the imperial officers in the Punjab. 
A disciple brought some valuable horses from Toor- 
kistan ; they were seized, as was said, for the emperor, 
and one was conferred as a gift on the Kazee or Judge 
of Lahore. The Gooroo recovered this one animal by 
pretending to purchase it; the judge was deceived, and 
his anger was further roused by the abduction of, the 
Sikhs say his daughter, the Mahometans, his favourite 
concubine, who had become enamored of the Gooroo. 
Other things may have rendered Hur Govind obnoxious, 
and it was resolved to seize him and to disperse his 
followers. He was assailed by one Mookhlis Khan, 
but he defeated the imperial troops near Amritsir, 
fighting, it is idly said, with five thousand men against 
seven thousand. Afterwards a Sikh, a converted robber, 
stole two of the emperor’s prime horses from Lahore, 
and the Gooroo was again attacked by the provincial 
levies, but the detachment was routed and its leaders 
slain. Hur Govind now deemed it prudent to retire 
for a time to the w r astes of Bhutinda, south of the 
Sutlej, where it might be useless or dangerous to 
follow him ; but he watched his opportunity and 
speedily returned to the Punjab, only, however, to 
become engaged in fresh contentions. The mother of 
one Payenda Khan, who had subsequently risen to 
some local eminence, had been the nurse of Hur Go¬ 
vind, and the Gooroo had ever been liberal to his foster 
brother. Payenda Khan was moved to keep to himself 

274. and Forster, Travels, i. 298, 299. induced him to submit to the em- 
But the journey to Cashmeer, and the peror. 

controversy with Mahometan saints The Emperor Jehangheer, in his 
or Moollas, are given on the authority Memoirs, gives more than one in- 
of the native chronicles. Mohsun stance of his credulity and super- 
Fanee represents Hur Govind to stitious reverence for reputed saints 
have been imprisoned for twelve and magicians. See particularly his 
years, and Forster attributes his re- Memoirs , p. 129. &c., where his visit 
lease to the intervention of a Ma- to a worker of wonders is narrated, 
hometan leader, who had originally 


1606— 

1645. 


Jehangheer 
dies 1628, 
and Hur 
Govind en¬ 
gages in a 
petty war¬ 
fare. 


Hur Govind 
retires to 
the wastes 
of Hurree- 
ana. 

Returns to 
the Punjab. 



56 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1606— 

1645. 


Slays in 
fight one 
Payenda 
Khan, his 
friend. 


Death of 
HurGovind, 
1645 a.d. 


Self-sacri¬ 
fice of dis¬ 
ciples on his 
pyre. 


a valuable hawk, belonging to the Gooroo’s eldest son, 
which had flown to his house by chance: he was taxed 
with the detention of the bird ; he equivocated before 
the Gooroo, and became soon after his avowed enemy. 
The presence of Hur Govind seems ever to have raised 
a commotion, and Payenda Khan was fixed upon as a 
suitable leader to coerce him. He was attacked; but 
the warlike apostle slew the friend of his youth with 
his own hand, and proved again a victor. In this 
action a soldier rushed furiously upon the Gooroo; but 
he warded the blow and laid the man dead at his feet, 
exclaiming, “Not so, but thus, is the sword used;” an 
observation from which the author of the Dabistan 
draws the inference “ that Hur Govind struck not in 
anger, but deliberately and to give instruction ; for the 
function of a Gooroo is to teach.” # 

Hur Govind appears to have had other difficulties 
and adventures of a similar kind, and occasionally to 
have been reduced to great straits ; but the Sikhs always 
rallied round him, his religious reputation increased 
daily, and immediately before his death he was visited 
by a famous saint of the ancient Persian faith.t He 
died in peace in 1645, at Keeritpoor on the Sutlej, a 
place bestowed upon him by the hill chief of Kuhloor, 
and the veneration of his followers took the terrible 
form of self-sacrifice. A Rajpoot convert threw him¬ 
self amid the flames of the funeral pyre, and walked 
several paces till he died at the feet of his master. A 
Jut disciple did the same, and others, wrought upon by 
these examples, were ready to follow, when Hur Raee, 
the succeeding Gooroo, interfered and forbade them.t 


* See the Dabistan, ii. 275.; bat 
native accounts, Sikh and Mahome¬ 
tan, have been mainly followed in 
narrating the sequence of events. 
Compare, however, the Dabistan, ii. 
284., for the seizure of horses be¬ 
longing to a disciple of the Gooroo. 
f The Dabistan , ii. 280. 

\ This is related on the authority 
of the Dabistan , ii. 280, 281. Hur 


Govind’s death is also given agreeably 
to the text of the Dabistan as having 
occurred on the 3d Mohurrum, 1055 
Hijree, or on the 19th Feb. 1645, 
a.d. Malcolm, Sketch, p. 37., and 
Forster, Travels, i. 299., give 1644 
a. n. as the exact or probable date, 
obviously from regarding 1701 Sum- 
but (which Malcolm also quotes) as 
identical throughout, instead of for 



Chap. III.] SIKH GOOROOS ; HUR GOVIND. 


57 


During the ministry of Hur Govind, the Sikhs in¬ 
creased greatly in numbers, and the fiscal policy of 
Arjoon, and the armed system of his son, had already 
formed them into a kind of separate state within the 
empire. The Gooroo was perhaps not unconscious of 
his latent influence, when he played with the credulity 
or rebuked the vanity of his Mahometan friend. “ A 
Raja of the north,” said he, “ has sent an ambassador 
to ask about a place called Delhi, and the name and 
parentage of its king. I was astonished that he had 
not heard of the commander of the faithful, the lord of 
the ascendant, Jehangheer.” * But during his busy 
life he never forgot his genuine character, and always 
styled himself “ Nanuk,” in deference to the firm belief 
of the Sikhs, that the soul of their great teacher 
animated each of his successors.t So far as Hur Govind 
knew or thought of philosophy as a science, he fell into 
the prevailing views of the period: God, he said, is 
one, and the world is an illusion, an appearance without 
a reality; or, he would adopt the more Pantheistic 
notion, and regard the universe as composing the one 
Being. But such reflections did not occupy his mind or 
engage his heart, and the rebuke of a Brahmin that 
if the world was the same as God, he, the Gooroo, was 
one with the ass grazing hard by, provoked a laugh 
only from the tolerant Hur Govind. t That he thought 


about the first nine months only, with 
1644 a. d., an error which may 
similarly apply to several conversions 
of dates in this history. The manu¬ 
script accounts consulted place the 
Gooroo’s death variously in 1637, 
1638, and 1639 a. d. ; but they lean 
to the middle term. All, however, 
must be too early, as Mohsun Fanee 
( Dabistan, ii. 281 .) says he saw Hur 
Govind in 1643 a. d. Hur Govind’s 
birth is placed by the native accounts 
in the early part of 1652 Sumbut, 
corresponding with the middle of 
1595 a. d. 

* See the Dabistan, ii. 276, 277. 
The friend being Mohsun Fanee him¬ 


self. The story perhaps shows that 
the Sikh truly considered the Ma¬ 
hometan to be a gossiping, and some¬ 
what credulous person. The dates 
would rather point to Shah Jehan as 
the emperor alluded to than Jehan¬ 
gheer, as given parenthetically in the 
translated text of the Dabistan. 
Jehangheer died in 1628 a. d., and 
Mohsun Fanee’s acquaintance with 
Hur Govind appears not to have 
taken place till towards the last years 
of the Gooroo’s life, or till after 1640 

A. D. 

f Compare the Dabistan, ii. 281. 

| Compare the Dabistan, ii. 277. 
279, 280. 


1606— 

1645. 

v__ ) 

The body of 
Sikhs forms 
a separate 
establish¬ 
ment with¬ 
in the em¬ 
pire. 

Some anec¬ 
dotes of Hur 
Govind. 


His philo¬ 
sophical 
views. 



58 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1645— 

1661. 


Hur Raee 
succeeds as 
Gooroo, 
1645. 


conscience and understanding our only divine guides, 
may probably be inferred from his reply to one who 
declared the marriage of a brother with a sister to be 
forbidden by the Almighty. Had God prohibited it, 
said he, it would be impossible for man to accomplish 
it. # His contempt for idolatry, and his occasional wide 
departure from the mild and conciliatory ways of 
Nanuk, may be judged from the following anecdote : — 
One of his followers smote the nose off an image; the 
several neighboring chiefs complained to the Gooroo, 
who summoned the Sikh to his presence ; the culprit 
denied the act, but said ironically, that if the god bore 
witness against him, he would die willingly. 44 Oh, 
fool! ” said the Rajas, 44 how should the god speak ? ” 
44 It is plain,” answered the Sikh, 44 who is the fool ; 
if the god cannot save his own head, how will he avail 
you ? ” t 

Goordut, the eldest son of Hur Govind, had acquired 
a high reputation, but he died before his father, leaving 
two sons, one of whom succeeded to the apostleship. t 
Hur Raee, the new Gooroo, remained at Keeritpoor for 
a time, until the march of troops to reduce the Kuhloor 
Raja to obedience induced him to remove eastward into 
the district of Sirmoor.8 There he also remained in 


* The Dabistan , ii. 280. 

f The Dabistan , ii. 276. 

\ For some allusions to Goordut 
or Goorditta, see the Dabistan, ii. 
281, 282. His memory is yet fondly 
preserved, and many anecdotes are 
current of his personal strength and 
dexterity. His tomb is at Keerit¬ 
poor on the Sutlej, and it has now 
become a place of pilgrimage. In 
connection with his death, a story is 
told, which at least serves to mark 
the aversion of the Sikh teachers to 
claim the obedience of the multitude 
by an assumption of miraculous pow¬ 
ers. Goorditta had raised a slaugh¬ 
tered cow to life, on the prayer, some 
say, of a poor man the owner, and 
bis father was displeased that he 
should so endeavor to glorify him¬ 


self. Goorditta said that as a life 
was required by God, and as he had 
withheld one, he would yield his 
own ; whereupon he lay down and 
gave up his spirit. A similar story 
is told of Uttul Raee, the youngest 
son of Hur Govind, who had raised the 
child of a sorrowing widow to life. 
His father reproved him, saying, 
Gooroos should display their powers 
in purity of doctrine and holiness of 
living. The youth, or child as some 
say, replied as Goorditta had done, 
and died. His tomb is in Amritsir, 
and is likewise a place deemed sacred. 

Goorditta’s younger son was named 
Dheermull, and his descendants are 
still to be found at Kurtarpoor, in 
the Jalundhur Dooab. 

§ See the Dabistan , ii. 282. The 



Chap. III.] 


SIKH GOOROOS J HUR RAEE 


59 


peace until he was induced, in 1658-59) to take part, 
of a nature not distinctly laid down, with Dara Shekoh, 
in the struggle between him and his brothers for the 
empire of India. Dara failed, his adherents became 
rebels, and Hur Raee had to surrender his elder son as 
a hostage. The youth was treated with distinction and 
soon released, and the favor of the politic Aurungzeb is 
believed to have roused the jealousy of the father.* 
But the end of Hur Raee was at hand, and he died at 
Keeritpoor in the year 1661.+ His ministry was mild, 
yet such as won for him general respect; and many 
of the “ Bhaees,” or brethren, the descendants of the 
chosen companions of a Gooroo, trace their descent to 
one disciple or other distinguished by Hur Raee.t 
Some sects also of Sikhs, who affect more than ordinary 
precision, had their origin during the peaceful supre¬ 
macy of this Gooroo. § 

Hur Raee left two sons, Ram Raee, about fifteen, 


place meant seems to be Tuksal or 
Tungsal, near the present British 
station of Kussowlee to the north¬ 
ward of Ambala. 

The important work of Mohsun 
Fanee brings down the history of the 
Sikhs to this point only. 

* The Gooroo’s leaning towards 
Dara, is given on the authority of 
native accounts only, but it is highly 
probable in itself, considering Dara’s 
personal character and religious prin¬ 
ciples. 

f The authorities mostly agree as 
to the date of Hur Raee’s death, but 
one account places it in 1662 a. d. 
The Gooroo’s birth is differently 
placed in 1628 and 1629. 

| Of these Bhaee Bhugtoo, the 
founder of the Kythul family, use¬ 
ful partizans of Lord Lake, but now 
reduced to comparative insignificance 
under the operation of the British 
system of escheat, was one of the best 
known. Dhurrum Singh, the ances¬ 
tor of the respectable Bhaees of Ba- 
greean, a place between the Sutlej 
and Jumna, was likewise a follower 
of Hur Raee. 


Now-a-days the title of Bhaee is 
in practice frequently given to any 
Sikh of eminent sanctity, whether his 
ancestor were the "companion of a 
Gooroo or not. The Behdees and 
Sodhees, however, confine themselves 
to the distinctive names of their 
tribes, or the Behdees call themselves 
Baba or father, and the Sodhees 
sometimes arrogate to themselves the 
title of Gooroo, as the representatives 
of Govind and Ram Das. 

§ Of these sects the Soot’hrees or 
the Soothra-Shahees, are the best 
known. Their founder was one 
Sootcha, a Brahmin, and they have a 
st'lian or dehra, or place under the 
walls of the citadel of Lahore. (Com¬ 
pare Wilson, As. Res., xvii. 236.) 
The name, or designation, means 
simply the pure. Another follower 
of Hur Raee, was a Khutree trader, 
named Futtoo, who got the title, or 
adopted the name, of Bhaee P’heeroo, 
and who, according to the belief of 
some people, became the real founder 
of the Oodassees. 


1645— 

1661. 

i ) 

V 

Becomes a 

political 

partizan. 


Dies 1661 

A.D. 


Hurkishen 

succeeds, 

1661. 



60 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1664- 

1675. 


Dies, 1664. 


Tegh Bu¬ 
hadur suc¬ 
ceeds as 
ninth Goo- 
roo, 1664. 


Ram Raee 
disputes his 
claims. 


and Hurkishen, about six years of age ; but the elder 
was the offspring of a handmaiden, and not of a wife 
of equal degree, and Hur Raee is further said to have 
declared the younger his successor. The disputes 
between the partizans of the two brothers ran high, 
and the decision was at last referred to the emperor. 
Aurungzeb may have been willing to allow the Sikhs to 
choose their own Gooroo, as some accounts have it, but 
the more cherished tradition relates that, being struck 
with the child’s instant recognition of the empress 
among a number of ladies similarly arrayed, he declared 
the right of Hurkishen to be indisputable, and he was 
accordingly recognised as head of the Sikhs: but 
before the infant apostle could leave Delhi, he was 
attacked with small-pox, and died, in 1664, at that 
place.* 

When Hurkishen was about to expire, he is stated 
to have signified that his successor would be found in 
the village of Bukkala, near Goindwal, on the Beeas 
river. In this village there were many of Hur Govind’s 
relatives, and his son Tegh Buhadur, after many wan¬ 
derings and a long sojourn at Patna, on the Ganges, 
had taken up his residence at the same place. Ram 
Raee continued to assert his claims, but he never formed 
a large party, and Tegh Buhadur was generally ac¬ 
knowledged as the leader of the Sikhs. The son of 
Hur Govind was rejoiced, but he said he was unworthy 
to wear his father’s sword, and in a short time his 
supremacy and his life were both endangered by the 
machinations of Ram Raee, and perhaps by his own 
suspicious proceedings.! He was summoned to Delhi 


* Compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 38., 
and Forster, Travels, i. 299. One 
native account places Hurkishen’s 
death in 1666 a. d., but 1664 seems 
the preferable date. His birth took 
place in 1656 a. d. 

f Compare, generally, Malcolm, 
Sketch, p. 38., Forster, Travels, i. 
299., and Browne’s India Tracts, ii. 


3,4. Tegh Buhadur’s refusal to 
wear the sword of his father, is given, 
however, on the authority of manu¬ 
script native accounts, which likewise 
furnish a story, showing the particu¬ 
lar act which led to his recognition 
as Gooroo. A follower of the sect, 
named Mukhun Sail (or Shah), who 
was passing through Bukkala, wished 



Chap. III.] SIKH GOOROOS ; TEGII BUHADUR. 


61 


as a pretender to power and as a disturber of the peace, 
but he had found a listener in the chief of Jeypoor ; 
the Rajpoot advocated his cause, saying such holy men 
rather went on pilgrimages than aspired to sovereignty, 
and he would take him with him on his approaching 
march to Bengal.* Tegh Buhadur accompanied the 
Raja to the eastward. He again resided for a time at 
Patna, hut afterwards joined the army, to bring success, 
says the chronicler, to the expedition against the chiefs 
of Assam. He meditated on the banks of the Bur- 
hampooter, and he is stated to have convinced the heart 
of the Raja of Kamroop, and to have made him a be¬ 
liever in his mission.t 

After a time Tegh Buhadur returned to the Punjab, 
and bought a piece of ground, now known as Mak- 
howal, on the banks of the Sutlej, and close to Keerit- 
poor, the chosen residence of his father. But the 
hostility and the influence of Ram Raee still pursued 
him, and the ordinary Sikh accounts represent him, 
a pious and innocent instructor of men, as once more 
arraigned at Delhi in the character of a criminal; 
but the truth seems to be that Tegb Buhadur followed 
the example of his father with unequal footsteps, and 


to make an offering to the Gooroo of 
his faith, but he was perplexed by 
the number of claimants. His offer¬ 
ing was to be 525 rupees in all, but 
the amount was known to him alone, 
and he silently resolved to give a ru¬ 
pee to each, and to hail him as Goo¬ 
roo who should (from intuition) 
claim the remainder. Tegh Buhadur 
demanded the balance, and so on. 

* Forster and Malcolm, who follow 
native Indian accounts, both give 
Jaee Singh as the name of the prince 
who countenanced Tegh Buhadur, 
and who went to Bengal on an expe¬ 
dition ; but one manuscript account 
refers to Beer Singh as the friendly 
chief. Tod ( Rajasthan , ii. 355.) 
says, Ram Singh, the son of the first 
Jaee Singh, went to Assam, but he 
is silent about his actions. It is not 


unusual in India to talk of eminent 
men as living, although long since 
dead, as a Sikh will now say he is 
Runjeet Singh’s soldier; and it is pro¬ 
bable that llam Singh was nominally 
forgotten, owing to the fame of his 
father, the “ Mirza Raja,” and even 
that the Sikh chroniclers of the early 
part of the last century confounded 
the first with the second of the name, 
their contemporary Suwaee Jaee 
Singh, the noted astronomer and pa¬ 
tron of the learned. Malcolm ( Sketch , 
p. 39.), who, perhaps, copies Forster 
( Travels , i. 299, 300.), says, Tegh 
Buhadur was, at this time, imprisoned 
for two years. 

f These last two clauses are almost 
wholly on the authority of a manu¬ 
script Goormookhee summary of 
Tegh Buhadur’s life. 


1664— 

1675. 


Tegh Buha.- 
dur retires 
for a time 
to Bengal. 


Tegh Buha¬ 
dur returns 
to the 
Punjab. 



62 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1664 — that, choosing for his haunts the wastes between Hansee 
t 16/5, and the Sutlej, he subsisted himself and his disciples 
Leads a life by plunder, in a way, indeed, that rendered him not 
of violence; unpopular with the peasantry. He is further credibly 
strainedto" ^presented to have leagued with a Mahometan zealot, 
appear at named Adum Hafiz, and to have levied contributions 
Delhl ' upon rich Hindoos, while his confederate did the same 
upon wealthy Mussulmans. They gave a ready asylum 
to all fugitives, and their power interfered with the 
prosperity of the country ; the imperial troops marched 
against them, and they were at last defeated and made 
prisoners. The Mahometan saint was banished, but 
Aurungzeb determined that the Sikh should be put to 
death.* 

When Tegh Buhadur was on his way to Delhi, he 
sent for his youthful son, and girding upon him the 
sword of Hur Govind, he hailed him as the Gooroo of 
the Sikhs. He told him he was himself being led to 
death, he counselled him not to leave his body a prey 
to dogs, and he enjoined upon him the necessity and 
the merit of revenge. At Delhi, the story continues, 
he was summoned before the emperor, and half insult¬ 
ingly, half credulously, told to exhibit miracles in proof 
of the alleged divinity of his mission. Tegh Buhadur 
answered that the duty of man was to pray to the Lord; 
yet he would do one thing, he would write a charm, 
and the sword should fall harmless on the neck around 
which it was hung. He placed it around his own neck 
and inclined his head to the executioner : a blow severed 
it, to the surprise of a court tinged with superstition, 
and upon the paper was found written, “ Sir deea, Sirr 
ne deea,” — he had given his head but not his secret; his 
life was gone, but his inspiration or apostolic virtue still 
remained in the world. Such is the narrative of a rude 

* The author of the Seir ool admit that such charges were made, 
Mutakhereen (i. 112,113.) mentions but deprecate a belief in them. For 
these predatory or insurrectionary Makhowal the Gooroo is said to have 
proceedings of Tegh Buhadur, and paid .500 rupees to the Raja of Kuh- 
the ordinary manuscript compilations loor. 


Chap. III.] SIKH GOOROOS ; TEGII BUHADUR. 


63 


and wonder-loving people ; yet it is more certain that 
Tegh Buhadur was put to death as a rebel in 1675, and 
that the stern and bigoted Aurungzeb had the body of the 
unbeliever publicly exposed in the streets of Delhi.* 
Tegh Buhadur seems to have been of a character 
hard and moody, and to have wanted both the genial 
temper of his father and the lofty mind of his son. 
Yet his own example powerfully aided in making 
the disciples of Nanuk a martial as well as a de¬ 
votional people. His reverence for the sword of his 
father, and his repeated injunction that his disciples 
should obey the bearer of his arrows, show more of the 
kingly than of the priestly spirit; and, indeed, about 
this time the Sikh Gooroos came to talk of themselves, 
and to be regarded by their followers, as “ Sutcha 
Padshahs,” or as “ veritable kings,” meaning, perhaps, 
that they governed by just influence and not by the 
force of arms, or that they guided men to salvation, 
while others controlled their worldly actions. But the 
expression could be adapted to any circumstances, and 
its mystic application seems to have preyed upon and 
perplexed the minds of the Moghul princes, while it 
illustrates the assertion of an intelligent Mahometan 
writer, that Tegh Buhadur, being at the head of many 
thousand men, aspired to sovereign power.t 

When Tegh Buhadur was put to death, his only son 
was in his fifteenth year. The violent end and the 


* All the accounts agree that Tegh 
Buhadur was ignominiously put to 
death. The end of the year 1675 
a. d.— as Mugser is sometimes given 
as the month—seems the most certain 
date of his execution. His birth is 
differently placed in 1612 and 1621 

A. D. 

j- Syed Gholam Ilosein, the au¬ 
thor of the Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 
112.), is the writer referred to. 

Browne, in his India Tracts (ii. 
2, 3.), and who uses a compilation, 
attributes Aurungzeb’s resolution to 
put Tegh Buhadur to death, to his 


assumption of the character of a 
“true king,” and to his use of the 
title of “ Buhadur,” expressive of 
valour, birth, and dignity. The 
Gooroo, in the narrative referred to, 
disavows all claim to miraculous 
powers. For some remarks on the 
term “ Sutcha Padshah,” see Appen¬ 
dix XIII. 

Tegh Buhadur’s objections to wear 
his father’s sword, and his injunction 
to reverence his arrows, that is, to 
heed what the bearer of them should 
say, are given on native authority. 


1664— 

1675. 


Tegh Buha¬ 
dur put to 
death 1675. 

Tegh Buha¬ 
dur’s cha¬ 
racter and 
influence. 


The title 
“ True 
king” 
applied to 
the Goo¬ 
roos. 


Govind suc¬ 
ceeds to the 
apostleship, 
1675. 



64 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1675— 

1708. 

i i 


But lives in 
retirement 
for several 
years. 


Govind’s 

character 

becomes 

developed, 


last injunction of the martyr Gooroo, made a deep im¬ 
pression on the mind of Govind, and in brooding over 
his own loss and the fallen condition of his country, he 
became the irreconcileable foe of the Mahometan name, 
and conceived the noble idea of moulding the vanquished 
Hindoos into a new and aspiring people. But Govind 
was yet young, the government was suspicious of his 
followers, and among the Sikhs themselves there were 
parties inimical to the son of Tegh Buhadur. His 
friends were therefore satisfied that the mutilated body 
of the departed Gooroo was recovered by the zeal and 
dexterity of some humble disciples*, and that the son 
himself performed the funeral rites so essential to the 
welfare of the living and the peace of the dead. Go¬ 
vind was placed in retirement amid the lower hills on 
either side of the Jumna, and for a series of years he 
occupied himself in hunting the tiger and wild boar, in 
acquiring a knowledge of the Persian language, and in 
storing his mind with those ancient legends which de¬ 
scribe the mythic glories of his race.t 

In this obscurity Govind remained perhaps twenty 
years t; but his youthful promise gathered round him 
the disciples of Nanuk, he was acknowledged as the 
head of the Sikhs, the adherents of Ram Raee declined 
into a sect of dissenters, and the neighboring chiefs 
became impressed with a high sense of the Gooroo’s 


* Certain men of the unclean and 
despised caste of Sweepers were de¬ 
spatched to Delhi to bring away the 
dispersed limbs of Tegh Buhadur, 
and it is said they partly owed their 
success to the exertions of that Muk- 
hun Shah, who had been the first to 
hail the deceased as Gooroo. 

f The accounts mostly agree as to 
this seclusion and occupation of 
Govind during his early manhood; 
but Forster ( Travels , i. 301.), and 
also some Goormookhee accounts, 
state that he was taken to Patna in 
the first instance, and that he lived 
there for some time before he retired 
to the Sireenuggur hills. 


% The period is nowhere definitely 
given by English or Indian writers; 
but from a comparison of dates 
and circumstances, it seems probable 
that Govind did not take upon him¬ 
self a new and special character as a 
teacher of men until about his thirty- 
fifth year, or until the year 1695 of 
Christ. A Sikh author, indeed, 
quoted by Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 186. 
note), makes Govind’s reforms date 
from 1696 a. d. ; but contradictorily 
one or more of Govind’s sayings or 
writings are made to date about the 
same period from the south of India, 
whither he proceeded only just before 
his death. 



Chap. III.] 


SIKHISM UNDER GOYIND. 


65 


superiority and a vague dread of his ambition. But 
Govind ever dwelt upon the fate of his father, and the 
oppressive bigotry of Aurungzeb ; study and reflection 
had enlarged his mind, experience of the world had 
matured his judgment, and, under the mixed impulse of 
avenging his own and his country’s wrongs, he re¬ 
solved upon awakening his followers to a new life, and 
upon giving precision and aim to the broad and general 
institutions of Nanuk. In the heart of a powerful 
empire he set himself to the task of subverting it, and 
from the midst of social degradation and religious cor¬ 
ruption, he called up simplicity of manners, singleness 
of purpose, and enthusiasm of desire. * 

Govind was equally hold, systematic, and sanguine ; 
but it is not necessary to suppose him either an unscru¬ 
pulous impostor or a self-deluded enthusiast. He 
thought that the minds of men might be wrought upon 
to great purposes, he deplored the corruption of the 
world, he resented the tyranny which endangered his 
own life, and he believed the time had come for another 
teacher to arouse the latent energies of the human will. 
His memory was filled with the deeds of primaeval seers 
and heroes; his imagination dwelt on successive dis¬ 
pensations for the instruction of the world, and his mind 
was not perhaps untinged with a superstitious belief in 


1675— 

1708. 


He resolves 
on modify¬ 
ing the sys¬ 
tem of 
Nanuk, and 
on combat¬ 
ing the Ma¬ 
hometan 
faith and 
power. 

Govind’s 
views and 
motives ; 


* The ordinary accounts represent 
Govind, as they represent his grand¬ 
father, to have been mainly moved to 
wage war against Mahometans by a 
desire of avenging the death of his 
parent. It would be unreasonable 
to deny to Govind the merit of other 
motives likewise ; but, doubtless, the 
fierce feeling in question strongly 
impelled him in the prosecution of 
his lofty and comprehensive design. 
The sentiment is indeed common 
to all times and places: it is as 
common in the present Indian as it 
was in the ancient European world ; 
and even the “ most Christian of 
poets ” has used it without rebuke 


to justify the anger of a shade in 
Hades, and his own sympathy as a 
mortal man yet dwelling in the 
world: — 

“ Oh guide beloved ! 

His violent death yet unavenged, 
said I, 

By any who are partners in his 
shame 

Made him contemptuous; therefore, 
as I think, 

He passed me speechless by, and 
doing so 

Hath made me more compassionate 
his fate.” — Dante , Hell, xxix. 

Cary’s Translation. 



HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Ill, 


66 


1675— 

1708. 

\_ t 

and mode 
of present¬ 
ing his 
mission. 


The reli¬ 
gions of the 
world held 
to be cor¬ 
rupt, and 
a new dis¬ 
pensation 
to have been 
vouchsafed. 


his own earthly destiny.* In an extant and authen¬ 
tic compositiont, he traces his mortal descent to ancient 
kings, and he extols the piety of his immediate parents 
which rendered them acceptable to God. But his own 
unembodied soul, he says, reposed in bliss, wrapt in 
meditation, and it murmured that it should appear on 
earth even as the chosen messenger of the Lord — the 
inheritor of the spirit of Nanuk, transmitted to him as 
one lamp imparts its flame to another.! He describes 
how the “Deityas” had been vainly sent to reprove 
the wickedness of man, and how the succeeding “ Deo- 
tas” procured worship for themselves as Siva and 
Brumha and Vishnoo. How the Siddhs had esta¬ 
blished divers sects, how Gorukhnath and Ramanund 
introduced other modes, and how Mahomet had re¬ 
quired men to repeat his own name when beseeching 
the Almighty. Each perversely, continues Govind, 
established ways of his own and misled the world, but 
he himself had come to declare a perfect faith, to extend 
virtue, and to destroy evil. Thus, he said, had he been 
manifested, but he was only as other men, the servant 
of the supreme, a beholder of the wonders of creation, 


* [The persuasion of being moved 
by something more than the mere 
human will and reason, does not ne¬ 
cessarily imply delusion or insanity in 
the ordinary sense of the term, and 
the belief is everywhere traceable as 
one of the phenomena of “ mind,” both 
in the creation of the poet and in the 
recorded experience of actual life. 
Thus the reader will remember the 
“ unaccustomed spirit” of Romeo,and 
the “ rebuked genius” of Macbeth, as 
well as the “star” of Napoleon; and 
he will call to mind the “ martial trans¬ 
ports” of either Ajax infused by 
Neptune, as well as the “daemon” of 
Socrates and the “ inspiration” of the 
holy men of Israel. ] 

f The Vichitr Natuk, or Won¬ 
drous Tale, which forms a portion of 
the Duswen Padshah ka Grunt’h, or 
Book of the Tenth King, 

\ The reader will contrast what 


Virgil says of the shade of Rome’s 
“ great emperor,” with the devoted 
quietism of the Indian reformer: — 

“ There mighty Caesar waits his vital 
hour, 

Impatient for the world, and grasps 
his promised power.”— jEneid,\ i. 

He will also call to mind the sen¬ 
timent of Milton, which the more 
ardent Govind has greatly heightened. 

“ He asked, but all the heavenly quire 
stood mute, 

And silence was in heaven: on man’s 
behalf, 

Patron or intercessor none appeared.” 

Until Christ himself said — 

“ Account me man, I for his sake will 
leave 

Thy bosom, and this glory next to 
thee 

Freely put off. ”—Paradise Lost, iii. 



Chap. III.] SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND. 

and whosoever worshipped him as the Lord should 1675— 
assuredly burn in everlasting flame. The practices of 1/0 8, 
Mahometans and Hindoos he declared to be of no avail, ' v_ 
the reading of Korans and Poorans was all in vain, 
and the votaries of idols and the worshippers of the 
dead could never attain to bliss. God, he said, was 
not to be found in texts or in modes, but in humility 
and sincerity.* 

Such is Govind’s mode of presenting his mission; The legend 
but his followers have extended the allegory, and have ^garding 
variously given an earthly close to his celestial vision, reformation 
He is stated to have performed the most austere devo- 
tions at the fane of the goddess-mother of mankind on 
the summit of the hill named Neina, and to have asked 
how in the olden times the heroic Arjoon transpierced 
multitudes with an arrow. He was told that by prayer 
and sacrifice the power had been attained. He invited 
from Benares a Brahmin of great fame for piety and 
for power over the unseen world. He himself care¬ 
fully consulted the Veds, and he called upon his nume¬ 
rous disciples to aid in the awful ceremony he was 
about to perform. Before all he makes successful trial 
of the virtue of the magician, and an ample altar is 
laboriously prepared for the Horn , or burnt offering. 

He is told that the goddess will appear to him, an 
armed shade, and that, undaunted, he should hail her 
and ask for fortune. The Gooroo, terror-struck, could 
but advance his sword, as if in salutation to the dread 
appearance. The goddess touched it in token of accept¬ 
ance, and a divine weapon, an axe of iron, was seen 
amid the flames. The sign was declared to be propi¬ 
tious, but fear had rendered the sacrifice incomplete, and 
Govind must die himself, or devote to death one dear 
to him, to ensure the triumph of his faith. The Gooroo 
smiled sadly; he said he had yet much to accomplish 


* Compare the extracts given by Malcolm from the Vichitr Natuk. 
( Sketch , p. 173. &c.) 


68 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IIT. 


1675— 

1708. 


The prin¬ 
ciples incul¬ 
cated by 
Govind. 


The 

“ Khalsa.” 


Old forms 
useless. 

God is one. 
All men are 
equal. 
Idolatry to 
he con¬ 
temned, and 
Mahomet¬ 
anism 
destroyed. 


in this world, and that his father’s spirit was still unap- 
peased. He looked towards his children, hut maternal 
affection withdrew them: twenty-five disciples then 
sprang forward and declared their readiness to perish; 
one was gladdened by being chosen, and the fates were 
satisfied.* 

Govind is next represented to have again assembled 
his followers, and made known to them the great ob¬ 
jects of his mission. A new faith had been declared, 
and henceforth the “Khalsa,” the saved or liberatedt, 
should alone prevail. God must be worshipped in 
truthfulness and sincerity, but no material resemblance 
must degrade the Omnipotent; the Lord could only be 
beheld by the eye of faith in the general body of the 
Khalsa. All, he said, must become as one; the lowest 
were equal with the highest; caste must be forgotten ; 
they must accept the “ Pahul” or initiation from him§, 
and the four races must eat as one out of one vessel. The 
Toorks must be destroyed, and the graves of those called 
saints neglected. The ways of the Hindoos must he 
abandoned, their temples viewed as holy and their 


* This legend is given with several 
variations, and one may be seen in 
Malcolm (Sketchy p. 53. note), and 
another in Macgregor’s History of 
the Sikh's (i. 71.). Perhaps the true 
origin of the myth is to be found in 
Govind’s reputed vision during sleep 
of the great goddess. (Malcolm, p. 
187.) The occurrence is 1 ] placed in 
the year 1696 a. d. (Malcolm, Sketch, 

p. 86.) 

f Khalsa or Khalisa, is of Arabic 
derivation, and has such original or 
secondary meanings, as pure, special, 
free, &c. It is commonly used in 
India to denote the immediate terri¬ 
tories of any chief or state as distin¬ 
guished from the lands of tributaries 
and feudal followers. Khalsa can 
thus be held either to denote the 
kingdom of Govind, or that the Sikhs 
are the chosen people. 

{ This assurance is given in the 


Rehet Nameh, or Rule of Life of 
Govind, which, however, is not in¬ 
cluded in the Grunt’h. In the same 
composition he says, or is held to 
have said, that the believer who wishes 
to see the Gooroo, shall behold him 
in the Khalsa. 

Those who object to such simili¬ 
tudes, or to such struggles of the 
mind after precision, should remem¬ 
ber that Abelard likened the Trinity 
to a syllogism with its three terms; 
and that Wallis, with admitted or¬ 
thodoxy, compared the Godhead to 
a mathematical cube with its three 
dimensions. ( Bayle's Dictionary , art. 
“ Abelard.”) 

§ Pahul (pronounced nearly as 
Fowl ), means literally a gate, a 
door, and thence initiation. The 
word may have the same origin as the 
Greek irv\r /. 



Chap. III.] 


SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND. 


69 


rivers looked upon as sacred; the Brahmin’s thread 
must be broken ; by means of the Khalsa alone could 
salvation be attained. They must surrender themselves 
wholly to their faith and to him their guide. Their 
words must be “ Kritnash, Koolnash, Dhurmnash, 
Kurmnash,” the forsaking of occupation and family, of 
belief and ceremonies. “ Do thus,” said Govind, “ and 
the world is yours.” # Many Brahmin and Kshutree 
followers murmured, but the contemned races rejoiced; 
they reminded Govind of their devotion and services, 
and asked that they also should be allowed to bathe in 
the sacred pool, and offer up prayers in the temple of 
Amritsir. The murmurings of the twice-born increased, 
and many took their departure, but Govind exclaimed 
that the lowly should be raised, and that hereafter the 
despised should dwell next to himself.t Govind then 
poured water into a vessel and stirred it with the sacri¬ 
ficial axe, or with the sword rendered divine by the 
touch of the goddess. His wife passed by, as it were 
by chance, bearing confections of five kinds : he hailed 
the omen as propitious, for the coming of woman de¬ 
noted an offspring to the Khalsa numerous as the leaves 


* The" text gives the substance 
and usually the very words of the 
numerous accounts to the same pur¬ 
port. (Compare also Malcolm, 
Sketch, p. 148. 151.) 

I Chooras, or men of the Sweeper 
caste, brought away the remains of 
Tegh Buhadur from Delhi, as has 
been mentioned (anti, p. 64, note). 
Many of that despised, but not op¬ 
pressed race, have adopted the Sikh 
faith in the Punjab, and they are 
commonly known as Rungret'ha 
Sikhs. Runggur is a term applied 
to the Rajpoots about Delhi who 
have become Mahometans; but in 
Mahva the predatory Hindoo Raj¬ 
poots are similarly styled, perhaps 
from Runk a poor man, in opposition 
to Rana one of high degree. Run- 


gret’ha seems thus rather a diminu¬ 
tive of Runggur, than a derivative of 
rung (color) as commonly under¬ 
stood. The Rungret’ha Sikhs are 
sometimes styled Muzhubee, or of the 
(Mahometan) faith, from the circum¬ 
stance that the converts from Islam are 
so called, and that many Sweepers 
throughout India have become Ma¬ 
hometans. 

In allusion to the design of in¬ 
spiring the Hindoos with a new life, 
Govind is reported to have said that 
he “ would teach the sparrow to 
strike the eagle.” (See Malcolm, 
Sketch, p. 74., where it is used with 
reference to Aurungzeb, but the say¬ 
ing is attributed to Govind under 
various circumstances by different 
authors.) 


p 3 


1675— 

1708 

_ 3 



70 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1675— 

1708. 

i j 

The Pahul 
or initia¬ 
tion of the 
sect of 
Singhs. 


The visible 
distinctions 
of Sikhs or 
Singhs. 


Lustration 
by water. 
Reverence 
for Nanuk. 


of the forest. He mingled the sugars with the water, 
and then sprinkled a portion of it upon five faithful dis¬ 
ciples, a Brahmin, a Kshutree, and three Soodras. He 
hailed them as 44 Singhs,” and declared them to be the 
Khalsa. He himself received from them the 44 Pahul” 
of his faith and became Govind Singh, saying, that 
hereafter, whenever five Sikhs should be assembled to¬ 
gether, there he also would be present.* 

Govind thus abolished social distinctions'!, and took 
away from his followers each ancient solace of super¬ 
stition ; but he felt that he must engage the heart as 
well as satisfy the reason, and that he must give the 
Sikhs some common bonds of union which should re¬ 
mind the weak of their new life, and add fervor to the 
devotion of the sincere. They should have one form of 
initiation, he said, the sprinkling of water by five of the 
faithful t; they should worship the One Invisible God; 
they should honour the memory of Nanuk and of his 
transauimate successors §; their watchword should be, 


* The Brahmin noviciate is stated 
to have been an inhabitant of the 
Deccan, and the Kshutree of the 
Punjab; one Soodra, a Jeewur 
(Kuhar), was of Juggernath, the 
second, a Jat, was of Hustinapoor, 
and the third, a Cheepa or cloth 
printer, was of Dwarka in Goojrat. 

For the declaration about five 
Sikhs forming a congregation, or 
about the assembly of five men en¬ 
suring the presence or the grace of 
the Gooroo, compare Malcolm, Sketch, 

p. 186. 

Govind had originally the cogno¬ 
men, or titular name, of “ Raee,” 
one in common use among Hindoos, 
and largely adopted under the varia¬ 
tion of “ Rao ” by the military Mah- 
rattas; but on declaring the com¬ 
prehensive nature of his reform, the 
Gooroo adopted for himself and fol¬ 
lowers the distinctive appellation of 
“ Singh,” meaning literally a lion, and 
metaphorically a champion or warrior. 


It is the most common of the dis¬ 
tinctive names in use among Raj¬ 
poots, and it is now the invariable 
termination of every proper name 
among the disciples of Govind. It 
is sometimes used alone, as Khan is 
used among the Mahometans, to de¬ 
note preeminence. Thus Sikh chiefs 
would talk of Runjeet Singh, as or¬ 
dinary Sikhs will talk of their own 
immediate leaders, as the “ Singh 
Sahib,” almost equivalent to “ Sir 
King,” or “ Sir Knight,” in English. 
Strangers likewise often address any 
Sikh respectfully as “ Singlijee.” 
f See Appendix X. 
t See Appendix XI. 

§ I he use of the word “transani- 
mate” may perhaps be allowed. The 
Sikh belief in the descent of the 
individual spirit of Nanuk upon each 
of his successors, is compared by 
Govind in the Vichitr Natuk to the 
imparting of flame from one lamp to 
another. 



Chap. III.] SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND, 


71 


Hail Gooroo! # but they should revere and bow to 1675- 
nought visible save the “ Grunt’h,” the book of their t 1/0 8, 


belief, t They should bathe, from time to time, in the Theexcla . 
pool of Amritsir ; their locks should remain unshorn ; mation, 
they should all name themselves “ Singhs,” or soldiers, ^ G °°' 
and of material things they should devote their finite unshom 
energies to steel alone, t Arms should dignify their the 
person ; they should be ever waging war, and great singh; 
would be his merit who fought in the van, who slew an and de¬ 
enemy, and who despaired not although overcome. He ™ms. n t0 
cut off the three sects of dissenters from all intercourse : 
the Dheermullees, who had labored to destroy Arjoon; 
the Ram Raees, who had compassed the death of his 
father; and the Mussundees, who had resisted his own 
authority. He denounced the “ shaven,” meaning, per¬ 
haps, all Mahometans and Hindoos ; and for no reason 
which bears clearly on the worldly scope of his mission, 
he held up to reprobation those slaves of a perverse 
custom, who impiously take the lives of their infant 
daughters.§ 

Govind had achieved one victory, he had made him¬ 
self master of the imagination of his followers; but a 
more laborious task remained, the destruction of the 
empire of unbelieving oppressors. He had established 
the Khalsa, the theocracy of Singhs, in the midst of 
Hindoo delusion and Mahometan error; he had con¬ 
founded Peers and Moollas, Sadhs and Pundits, but 
he had yet to vanquish the armies of a great emperor, 
and to subdue the multitudes whose faith he impugned. 

The design of Govind may seem wild and senseless to 
those accustomed to consider the firm sway and regular 
policy of ancient Rome, and who daily witness the 

* See Appendix XII. idolatry, by denouncing (in the 

j- Obeisance to the Grunt’h alone Vichitr Natuk) all who should re- 
is inculcated in the Rehet Nameh, or gard him as a god. 

Rule of Life of Govind, and he en- f See Appendix XIII. 
deavored to guard against being § See Appendix XIV. 
himself made an object of future 


72 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1675— 

1708. 


The cha¬ 
racter and 
condition of 
the Moghul 
empire 
when 
Govind re¬ 
solved to 
assail it. 


Akber. 


Aurungzeb. 


power and resources of the well-ordered governments of 
modern Europe. But the extensive empires of the 
East, as of semi-barbarism in the West, have never been 
based on the sober convictions of a numerous people; 
they have been mere dynasties of single tribes, rendered 
triumphant by the rapid development of warlike energy, 
and by the comprehensive genius of eminent leaders. 
Race has succeeded race in dominion, and what Cyrus 
did with his Persians and Charlemagne with his Franks, 
Baber began and Akber completed with a few Tartars 
their personal followers. The Moghuls had even a less 
firm hold of empire than the Acheemenides or the Car- 
lovingians ; the devoted clansmen of Baber were not 
numerous, his son w^as driven from his throne, and 
Akber became the master of India as much by political 
sagacity, and the generous sympathy of his nature, as 
by military enterprize and the courage of his partizans. 
He perceived the want of the times, and his command¬ 
ing genius enabled him to reconcile the conflicting 
interests and prejudices of Mahometans and Hindoos, of 
Rajpoots, Toorks, and Puthans. At the end of fifty 
years he left his heir a broad and well regulated do¬ 
minion ; yet one son of Jehangheer contested the em¬ 
pire with his father, and Shah Jehan first saw his 
children waging war with one another for the possession 
of the crown which he himself still wore, and at length 
became the prisoner of the ablest and most successful of 
the combatants. Aurungzeb ever feared the influence 
of his own example : his temper was cold; his policy 
towards Mahometans was one of suspicion, while his 
bigotry and persecutions rendered him hateful to his 
Hindoo subjects. In his old age his wearied spirit 
could find no solace ; no tribe of brave and confiding 
men gathered round him : yet his vigorous intellect kept 
him an emperor to the last, and the hollowness of his 
sway was not apparent to the careless observer until he 
was laid in his grave. The empire of the Moghuls 
wanted political fusion, and its fair degree of adminis- 


CttAP. III.] 


SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND. 


73 


trative order and subordination was vitiated by the 1675 - 
doubt which hung about the succession.* It comprised t 1/0 8, 
a number of petty states which rendered an unwilling 
obedience to the sovereign power ; it was also studded 
over with feudal retainers, and all these hereditary 
princes and mercenary “ Jagheerdars ” were ever ready 
to resist, or to pervert, the measures of the central 
government. They considered then, as they do now, 
that a monarch exercised sway for his own interests 
only, without reference to the general welfare of the 
country; no public opinion of an intelligent people 
systematically governed controlled them, and applause 
always awaited the successful aspirant to power. Akber 
did something to remove this antagonism between the 
rulers and the ruled, but his successors were less wise 
than himself, and religious discontent was soon added 
to the love of political independence. The southern 
portions of India, too, were at this time recent conquests, 
and Aurungzeb had been long absent, hopelessly en¬ 
deavoring to consolidate his sway in that distant 
quarter. The Himalayas had scarcely been penetrated 
by the Moghuls, except in the direction of Cashmeer, 
and rebellion might rear its head almost unheeded amid 
their wild recesses. Lastly, during this period, Seva- sevajee the 
jee had roused the slumbering spirit of the Mahratta Mahratta - 
tribes. He had converted rude herdsmen into success¬ 
ful soldiers, and had become a territorial chief in the 
very neighborhood of the emperor. Govind added Gooroo 
religious fervor to warlike temper, and his design of Govmd * 
founding a kingdom of Juts upon the waning glories of 
Aurungzeb’s dominion, does not appear to have been 
idly conceived or rashly undertaken. 


* Notwithstanding this defect, the 
English themselves have yet to do 
much before they can establish a sys¬ 
tem which shall last so long and work 
so well as Akber’s organization of 
Pergunneh Chowdhrees and Qanoon- 
goes, who may be likened to heredi¬ 


tary county sheriffs, and registers of 
landed property and holdings. The 
objectionable hereditary law was 
modified in practice by the adoption 
of the most able or the most upright 
as the representative of the family. 


7 4 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1675— 

1708. 


Govind’s 
plans of 
active oppo¬ 
sition 
(about) 
1695. 


His military 
posts; 


and leagues 
with the 
chiefs of the 
Lower 
Himalayas. 


His influ¬ 
ence as a 
religious 
teacher. 


Govind 
quarrels 
with the 


Yet it is not easy to place the actions of Govind in due 
order, or to understand the particular object of each of 
his proceedings. He is stated by a credible Mahome¬ 
tan author to have organized his followers into troops 
and bands, and to have placed them under the command 
of trustworthy disciples.* He appears to have enter¬ 
tained a body of Puthans, who are every where the 
soldiers of fortune t, and it is certain that he established 
two or three forts along the skirts of the hills between 
the Sutlej and Jumna. He had a post at Pownta in 
the Keearda vale near Nahun, a place long afterwards 
the scene of a severe struggle between the Goorkhas 
and the English. He had likewise a retreat at Anund- 
poor-Makhowal, which had been established by his 
father t, and a third at Chumkowr, fairly in the plains 
and lower down the Sutlej than the chosen haunt of 
Tegh Buhadur. He had thus got strongholds which 
secured him against any attempts of his hill neighbors, 
and he would next seem to have endeavored to mix 
himself up with the affairs of these half independent 
chiefs, and to obtain a commanding influence over them, 
so as by degrees to establish a virtual principality amid 
mountain fastnesses to serve as the basis of his opera¬ 
tions against the Moghul government. As a religious 
teacher he drew contributions and procured followers 
from all "parts of India, but as a leader he perceived the 
necessity of a military pivot, and as a rebel he was not 
insensible to the value of a secure retreat. 

Govind has himself described the several actions in 
which he was engaged, either as a principal or as an 


* Seir ool Mutakhereen, i. 113. 
t The Mahratta histories show 
that Sevajee likewise hired bands of 
Puthans, who had lost service in the 
declining kingdom of Bejapoor. 
( Grant Duff, Hist, of the Mahrattas, 
i. 165.) 

\ Anundpoor is situated close to 
Makhowal. The first name was 
given by Govind to his own parti¬ 


cular residence at Makhowal, as dis¬ 
tinguished from the abode of his 
father, and it signified the place of 
happiness. A knoll, with a seat 
upon it, is here pointed out, whence 
it is said Govind was wont to dis¬ 
charge an arrow acoss and a quarter— 
about a mile and two-thirds English, 
the Punjabee coss being small. 


Chap. III.] 


SIKHISM UNDER G0V1ND. 


75 


ally.* His pictures are animated; they are of some 
value as historical records, and their sequence seems 
more probable than that of any other narrative. His 
first contest was with his old friend the chief of Nahun, 
aided by the Raja of Hindoor, to whom he had given 
offence, and by the mercenary Puthans in his own ser¬ 
vice, who claimed arrears of pay, and who may have 
hoped to satisfy all demands by the destruction of 
Govind and the plunder of his establishments. But the 
Gooroo was victorious, some of the Puthan leaders fell, 
and Govind slew the young warrior, Hurree Chund of 
Nalagurh, with his own hand. The Gooroo neverthe¬ 
less deemed it prudent to move to the Sutlej; he 
strengthened Anundpoor, and became the ally of Bheem 
Chund of Kuhloor, who was in resistance to the im¬ 
perial authorities of Kot Kanggra. The Mahometan 
commander was joined by various hill chiefs, but in the 
end he was routed, and Bheem Chund’s rebellion seemed 
justified by success. A period of rest ensued, during 
which, says Govind, he punished such of his followers 
as were lukewarm or disorderly. But the aid which 
he rendered to the chief of Kuhloor was not forgotten, 
and a body of Mahometan troops made an unsuccess¬ 
ful attack upon his position. Again an imperial com¬ 
mander took the field, partly to coerce Govind, and 
partly to reduce the hill rajas, who, profiting by the ex¬ 
ample of Bheem Chund, had refused to pay their usual 
tribute. A desultory warfare ensued; some attempts at 
accommodation were made by the hill chiefs, but these 
were broken off, and the expedition ended in the rout 
of the Mahometans. 

The success of Govind, for all was attributed to him, 
caused the Mahometans some anxiety, and his designs 


1 675— 
1708. 

Rajas of 
Nahun and 
Nalagurh. 


Aids the 
Raja of 
Kuhloor 
and other 
chiefs 
against the 
imperial 
forces. 


Govind’s 
proceedings 
excite the 


* Namely, in the Vichitr Natuk, 58. &c.), may be referred to for 
already quoted as a portion of translations of some portions of the 
the Second Grunt’h. The “ Gooroo Vichitr Natuk bearing on the period, 
Bilas,” by Sookha Singh, corrobo- but Malcolm’s own general nar¬ 
rates Govind’s account, and adds rative of the events is obviously con- 
many details. Malcolm ( Sketch , p. tradictory and inaccurate. 


76 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1675— 

1708. 


suspicions 
of the hill 
chiefs, and 
cause the 
emperor 
some 
anxiety 
(about) 
1701. 

Govind re¬ 
duced to 
straits at 
Anuudpoor. 


His children 
escape; but 
are subse¬ 
quently put 
to death. 


He himself 
flies to 
Chumkowr. 

Govind 

escapes 


appear likewise to have alarmed the hill chiefs, for 
they loudly claimed the imperial aid against one who 
announced himself as the True King. Aurungzeb 
directed the governors of Lahore and Sirhind to march 
against the Gooroo, and it was rumored that the 
emperor’s son, Buhadur Shah, would himself take the 
field in their support.* Govind was surrounded at 
Anundpoor by the forces of the empire. His own 
resolution was equal to any emergency, but numbers of 
his followers deserted him. He cursed them in this 
world and in the world to come, and others who 
wavered, he caused to renounce their faith, and then 
dismissed them with ignominy. But his difficulties in¬ 
creased, desertions continued to take place, and at last 
he found himself at the head of no more than forty 
devoted followers. His mother, his wives, and his two 
youngest children effected their escape to Sirhind, but 
the boys were there betrayed to the Mahometans and 
put to death.t The faithful forty said they were ready 
to die with their priest and king, and they prayed him 
to recall his curse upon their weaker hearted brethren, 
and to restore to them the hope of salvation. Govind 
said that his wrath would not endure. But he still clung 
to temporal success ; the fort of Chumkowr remained in 
his possession, and he fled during the night and reached 
the place in safety. 

At Chumkowr Govind was again besieged.t He 


* Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 60, note) 
says, that this allusion would place 
the warfare in 1701 a. d., as Bu¬ 
hadur Shah was at that time sent 
from the Deccan towards Caubul. 
Some Sikh traditions, indeed, repre¬ 
sent Govind as having gained the 
good will of, or as they put it, as 
having shown favour to, Buhadur 
Shah; and Govind himself, in the 
Vichitr Natuk, says that a son of the 
emperor came to suppress the distur¬ 
bances, but no name is given. Neither 
does Mr. Elphinstone ( History , ii. 
54.5.) specify Buhadur Shah; and, 


indeed, he merely seems to conjec¬ 
ture that a prince of the blood, who 
was sent to put down disturbances 
near Mooltan, was really employed 
against the Sikhs near Sirhind. 

t The most detailed account of 
this murder of Govind’s children, is 
given in Browne’s India Tracts , ii. 
6,7. 

f At Chumkowr, in one of the 
towers of the small brick fort, is still 
shown the tomb of a distinguished 
warrior, a Sikh of the Sweeper caste, 
named Jeewun Singh, who fell dur¬ 
ing the siege. The bastion itself is 



SIKHISM UNDER GOYIND. 


Chap. III.] 


77 


was called upon to surrender his person and to renounce 1675 — 
his faith, but Ajeet Singh, his son, indignantly silenced . 1/0 8< 
the bearer of the message. The troops pressed upon the f romC hum- 
Sikhs ; the Gooroo was himself every where present, but kowr, 
his two surviving sons fell before his eyes, and his little 1705—16 ‘ 
band was nearly destroyed. He at last resolved upon 
escape, and taking advantage of a dark night, he 
threaded his way to the outskirts of the camp, but there 
he was recognized and stopped by two Puthans. These 
men, it is said, had in former times received kindness 
at the hands of the Gooroo, and they now assisted him 
in reaching the town of Behlolpoor, where he trusted 
his person to a third follower of Islam, one Peer 
Mahomed, with whom it is further said the Gooroo had 
once studied the Koran. Here he ate food from 
Mahometans, and declared that such might be done by 
Sikhs under pressing circumstances. He further dis¬ 
guised himself in the blue dress of a Mussulman Der¬ 
vish, and speedily reached the wastes of Bhutinda. His Success- 
disciples again rallied round him, and he succeeded in f“ lly resists 

i • i • i • ,11 t his pursuers 

repulsing his pursuers at a place since called “ Moo- at Mookut- 
kutsur,” or the Pool of Salvation. He continued his sur; 
flight to Dumdumma, or the Breathing Place, half way and rests 
between Hansee and Feerozpoor ; the imperial autho- 
rities thought his strength sufficiently broken, and they near 
did not follow him further into a parched and barren Bhutindai 
country. 

At Dumdumma Govind remained for some time, and Govind 
he occupied himself in composing the supplemental th™v°ichitr 
Grunt’h, the Book of the Tenth King, to rouse the Natuk. 
energies and sustain the hopes of the faithful. This 
comprises the Vichitr Natuk, or “Wondrous Tale,” the 
only historical portion of either Grunt’h, and which he 
concludes by a hymn in praise of God, who had ever 


known as that of the Martyr. A Govind’s defeat and flight are 
temple now stands where Ajeet Singh placed by the Sikhs in 1705, 1706, 
and Joojarli Singh, the eldest sons of a. d. 

Govind, are reputed to have fallen. 


78 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1675— 

1708. 


Summoned 
by Aurung- 
zeb to his 
presence. 


Replies to 
the emperor 
in a denun¬ 
ciatory 
strain. 


Aurungzeb 
dies, and 
Buhadur 
Shah suc¬ 
ceeds, 1707 

A. D. 


assisted him. He would, he says, make known in 
another book the things which he had himself accom¬ 
plished, the glories of the Lord which he had witnessed, 
and his recollections or visions of his antecedent exist¬ 
ence. All he had done, he said, had been done with 
the aid of the Almighty; and to “ Loh,” or the mys¬ 
terious virtue of iron, he attributed his preservation. 
While thus living in retirement, messengers arrived to 
summon him to the emperor’s presence; but Govind 
replied to Aurungzeb in a series of parables admonitory 
of kings, partly in which, and partly in a letter which 
accompanied them, he remonstrates rather than humbles 
himself. He denounces the wrath of God upon the 
monarch, rather than deprecates the imperial anger 
against himself; he tells the emperor that he puts no 
trust in him, and that the “ Khalsa” will yet avenge 
him. He refers to Nanuk’s religious reform, and he 
briefly alludes to the death of Arjoon and of Tegh Bu¬ 
hadur. He describes his own wrongs and his childless 
condition. He was, as one without earthly link, patiently 
awaiting death, and fearing none but the sole Emperor, 
the King of Kings. Nor, said he, are the prayers of 
the poor ineffectual; and on the day of reckoning it 
would be seen how the emperor would justify his mani¬ 
fold cruelties and oppressions. The Gooroo was again 
desired to repair to Aurungzeb’s presence, and he really 
appears to have proceeded to the south some time before 
the aged monarch was removed by death.* 

Aurungzeb died in the beginning of 1707, and his 
eldest son, Buhadur Shah, hastened from Caubul to 
secure the succession. He vanquished and slew one 
brother near Agra, and, marching to the south, he de¬ 
feated a second, Kambukhsh, who died of his wounds. 


* In this narrative of Govind’s Goormookhee; transcripts, imperfect 
warlike actions, reference has been apparently, of some of which latter 
mainly had to the Vichitr Natuk of have been put into English by Dr. 
the Gooroo, to the Gooroo Bilas of Macgregor. (History of the Sikhs, pp. 
Sookha Singh, and to the ordinary 79.—99.) 
modern compilations in Persian and 


Chap. III.] SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND. 

While engaged in this last campaign, Buhadur Shah 
summoned Govind to his camp. The Gooroo went; 
he was treated with respect and he received a military 
command in the valley of the Godavery. The emperor 
perhaps thought that the leader of insurrectionary Juts 
might be usefully employed in opposing rebellious Mah- 
rattas, and Govind perhaps saw in the imperial service a 
ready way of disarming suspicion and of reorganizing his 
followers.* At Dumdumma he had again denounced 
evil upon all who should thenceforward desert him ; in 
the south he selected the daring Bunda as an instrument, 
and the Sikhs speedily reappeared in overwhelming 
force upon the banks of the Sutlej. But Govind’s race 
was run, and he was not himself fated to achieve aught 
more in person. He had engaged the services of an 
Afghan, half adventurer, half merchant, and he had 
procured from him a considerable number of horses, t 
The merchant, or servant, pleaded his own necessities, 
and urged the payment of large sums due to him. 
Impatient with delay, he used an angry gesture, and 
his mutterings of violence provoked Govind to strike 
him dead. The body of the slain Puthan was removed 
and buried, and his family seemed reconciled to the 
fate of its head. But his sons nursed their revenge, 
and awaited an opportunity of fulfilling it. They suc¬ 
ceeded in stealing upon the Gooroo’s retirement, and 


* The Sikh writers seem unani¬ 
mous in giving to their great teacher 
a military command in the Deccan, 
while some recent Mahometan com¬ 
pilers assert that he died at Patna. 
But the liberal conduct of Buhadur 
Shah is confirmed by the contempo¬ 
rary historian, Khafee Khan, who 
states that he received rank in the 
Moghul army (see Elphinstone, Hist, 
of India, ii. 566, note), and it is in a 
degree corroborated by the undoubted 
fact of the Gooroo’s death, on the 
banks of the Godavery. The tradi¬ 
tions preserved at Nuderh, give Kar- 
tik, 1765 (Sumbut), or towards the 


end of 1703 a.d., as the date of Go- 
vind’s arrival at that place. 

f It would be curious to trace how 
far India was colonized in the inter¬ 
vals of great invasions by petty Af¬ 
ghan and Toorkmun leaders, who 
defrayed their first or occasional ex¬ 
penses by the sale of horses. Tra¬ 
dition represents that both the de¬ 
stroyer of Manikyala in the Punjab, 
and the founder of Bhutneerin Hur- 
reeana, were emigrants so circum¬ 
stanced ; and Ameer Khan, the recent 
Indian adventurer, was similarly re¬ 
duced to sell his steeds for food. ( Me¬ 
moirs of Ameer Khan, p. 16.) 


79 


1675— 
1708. 


Govind pro¬ 
ceeds to the 
south of 
India. 

Enters the 

imperial 

service. 



80 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IIL 


1675— 

1708. 


Govind 
wounded by 
assassins, 


and dies de¬ 
claring his 
mission to 
be ful¬ 
filled, and 
the Khalsa 
to be com¬ 
mitted to 
God, 1708 

A. D. 


stabbed him mortally when asleep or unguarded. Go¬ 
vind sprang up and the assassins were seized; but a 
sardonic smile played upon their features, and they 
justified their act of retribution. The Gooroo heard: 
he remembered the fate of their father, and he perhaps 
called to mind his own unavenged parent. He said to 
the youths that they had done well, and he directed 
that they should be released uninjured.* The expiring 
Gooroo was childless, and the assembled disciples asked 
in sorrow who should inspire them with truth and lead 
them to victory when he was no more. Govind bade 
them be of good cheer ; the appointed Ten had indeed 
fulfilled their mission, but he was about to deliver the 
Khalsa to God, the never-dying. “ He who wishes to 
behold the Gooroo, let him search the Grunt’h of Nanuk. 
The Gooroo will dwell with the Khalsa; be firm and 
be faithful: wherever five Sikhs are gathered together 
there will I also be present.” t 

Govind was killed in 1708, at Nuderh, on the banks 


* All the common accounts nar¬ 
rate the death of Govind as given in 
the text, but with slight differences 
of detail, while some add that the 
widow of the slain Puthan continu¬ 
ally urged her sons to seek revenge. 
Many accounts, and especially those 
by Mahometans, likewise represent 
Govind to have become deranged in 
his mind, and a story told by some 
Sikh writers gives a degree of coun¬ 
tenance to such a belief. They say 
that the heart of the Gooroo inclined 
towards the youths whose father he 
had slain, that he was wont to play 
simple games of skill with them, and 
that he took opportunities of incul¬ 
cating upon them the merit of re¬ 
venge, as if he was himself weary of 
life, and wished to fall by their hands. 
The Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 114.) 
simply says that Govind died of 
grief on account of the loss of his 
children. (Compare Malcolm, Sketch, 
p. 70. &c., and Elphinstone, History, 
ii. 564.) The accounts now fur¬ 


nished by the priests of the temple at 
Nuderh, represent the one assassin of 
the Gooroo to have been the grand¬ 
son of the Payenda Khan, slain by 
Hur Govind, and they do not give 
him any further cause of quarrel with 
Govind himself. 

f Such is the usual account given 
of the Gooroo’s dying injunctions; and 
the belief that Govind consummated 
the mission or dispensation of Nanuk, 
seems to have been agreeable to the 
feelings of the times, while it now 
forms a main article of faith. The 
mother, and one wife of Govind, are 
represented to have survived him 
some years; but each, when dying, de¬ 
clared the Goorooship to rest in the 
general body of the Khalsa, and not 
in any one mortal; and hence the 
Sikhs do not give such a designation 
even to the most revered of their 
holy men, their highest religious title 
being “ Bhaee,” literally “ brother,” 
but corresponding in significance 
with the English term “ elder.” 



Chap. III.] 


SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND. 


81 


of the Godavery.* He was in his forty-eighth year, 
and if it be thought by any that his obscure end belied 
the promise of his whole life, it should be remembered 
that — 


“ The hand of man 
Is but a tardy servant of the brain, 

And follows, with its leaden diligence, 

The fiery steps of fancyf 

that when Mahomet was a fugitive from Mecca, 
“ the lance of an Arab might have changed the history 
of the world t and that the Achilles of poetry, the 
reflection of truth, left Troy untaken. The lord of the 
Myrmidons, destined to a short life and immortal glory, 
met an end almost as base as that which he dreaded 
when struggling with Simois and Scamander; and the 
heroic Richard, of eastern and western fame, whose 
whole soul was bent upon the deliverance of Jerusalem, 
veiled his face in shame and sorrow that God’s holy city 
should be left in the possession of infidels: he would 
not behold that which he could not redeem, and he de¬ 
scended from the Mount to retire to captivity and a 
premature grave. § Success is thus not always the 
measure of greatness. The last apostle of the Sikhs 


* Govind is stated to have been 
born in the month of “ Poh,” 1718 
Sumbut, which may be the end of 
1661, or beginning of 1662 a. d., and 
all accounts agree in placing his death 
about the middle of 1 765 Sumbut, or 
towards the end of 1708 a. d. 

At Nuderh there is a large reli¬ 
gious establishment, partly supported 
by the produce of landed estates, 
partly by voluntary contributions, 
and partly by sums levied annually, 
agreeably to the mode organised by 
Arjoon. The principal of the esta¬ 
blishment despatches a person to 
show his requisition to the faithful, 
and all give according to their means. 
Thus the common horsemen in the 
employ of Bhopal give a rupee and a 
quarter each a year, besides offerings 
on occasions of pilgrimage. 

Runjeet Singh sent considerable 


sums to Nuderh, but the buildings 
commenced with the means which he 
provided have not been completed. 

Nuderh is also called Upchulla- 
nuggur, and in Southern and Central 
India it is termed pre-eminently 
“ the Goordwara,” that is, “ the 
house of the Gooroo.” 

f Sir Marmaduke Maxwell, a dra¬ 
matic poem, act iv. scene 6. 

J Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the 
Roman Empire , ix. 285. 

§ For this story of the lion-like 
king, see Gibhon ( Decline and Fall , 
xi. 143.). See also Turner’s compa¬ 
rison of the characters of Achilles and 
Richard ( Historyof England , p. 300.), 
and Hallam’s assent to its superior 
justness relatively to his own parallel 
of the Cid and the English hero 
( Middle Ages , iii. 482.). 


1675— 

1708. 

i i 

TT 

Govind’s 
end un¬ 
timely but 
labours not 
fruitless. 



82 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1708— 
1716. 

i t « 

A new cha¬ 
racter im¬ 
pressed 
upon the 
reformed 
Hindoos; 


although 
not fully 
apparent to 
strangers, if 
so to In¬ 
dians. 


did not live to see his own ends accomplished, but he 
effectually roused the dormant energies of a vanquished 
people, and filled them with a lofty although fitful 
longing for social freedom and national ascendancy, 
the proper adjuncts of that purity of worship which had 
been preached by Nanuk. Govind saw what was yet 
vital, and he relumed it with Promethean fire. A 
living spirit possesses the whole Sikh people, and the 
impress of Govind has not only elevated and altered 
the constitution of their minds, but has operated mate¬ 
rially and given amplitude to their physical frames. 
The features and external form of a whole people have 
been modified, and a Sikh chief is not more distin¬ 
guishable by his stately person and free and manly 
bearing, than a minister of his faith is by a lofty 
thoughtfulness of look, which marks the fervor of his 
soul, and his persuasion of the near presence of the 
Divinity.* Notwithstanding these changes it has been 
usual to regard the Sikhs as essentially Hindoo, and 
they doubtless are so in language and every-day customs, 
for Govind did not fetter his disciples with political 
systems or codes of municipal laws; yet, in religious 
faith and worldly aspirations, they are wholly different 
from other Indians, and they are bound together by a 
community of inward sentiment and of outward object 
unknown elsewhere. But the misapprehension need 
not surprize the public nor condemn our scholars t, 


* This physical change has been 
noticed by Sir Alex. Burnes ( Travels , 
i. 285. and ii. 39.), by Elphinstone, 
(History of India , ii. 564.), and it 
also slightly struck Malcolm ( Sketch , 
p. 129.). Similarly a change of as¬ 
pect, as well as of dress, &c., may be 
observed in the descendants of such 
members of Hindoo families as be¬ 
came Mahometans one or two cen¬ 
turies ago, and whose personal ap¬ 
pearance may yet be readily compared 
with that of their undoubted Brah- 
minical cousins in many parts of 
Malwa and Upper India. That 


Prichard (Physical History of Man¬ 
kind, i. 183. and i. 191.) notices no 
such change in the features, although 
he does in the characters, of the Hot¬ 
tentots] and Esquimaux who have 
been converted to Christianity, may 
either show that the attention of our 
observers and inquirers has not been 
directed to the subject, or that the 
savages in question have embraced a 
new faith with little of living ardor 
and absorbing enthusiasm. 

t The author alludes chiefly to 
Professor H. H. Wilson, whose 
learning and industry is doing so 



Chap. III.] 


BUNDA 


83 


when it is remembered that the learned of Greece and 
Rome misunderstood the spirit of those humble men 
who obtained a new life by baptism. Tacitus and Sue¬ 
tonius regarded the early Christians as a mere Jewish 
sect, they failed to perceive the fundamental difference, 
and to appreciate the latent energy and real excellence, 
of that doctrine, which has added dignity and purity to 
modern civilization.* 

Bunda, the chosen disciple of Govind, was a native 
of the south of India, and an ascetic of the Byraghee 
order t; and the extent of the deceased Gooroo’s pre¬ 
parations and means will be best understood from the 
narrative of the career of his followers, when his own 


much for Indian History. (See Asi¬ 
atic Researches, xvii. 237, 238. and 
Continuation of Mills' History, vii. 
101, 102.) Malcolm holds similar 
views in one place ( Sketch, pp. 144. 
148. 150.), but somewhat contradicts 
himself in another. ( Sketch, p. 43.) 
With these opinions, however, may 
be compared the more correct views 
of Elphinstone (History of India, ii. 
562. 564.), and Sir Alex. Burnes 
( Travels, i. 284,285.), and also Major 
Browne’s observation ( India Tracts , 
ii. 4.), that the Sikh doctrine bore 
the same relation to the Hindoo, as 
the Protestant does to the Romish. 

* See the Annals of Tacitus , Mur¬ 
phy s Translation (book xv. sect. 44. 
note 15.). Tacitus calls Christianity 
a dangerous superstition, and regards 
its professors as moved by “ a sullen 
hatred of the whole human race ”—the 
Judaic characteristic of the period. 
Suetonius talks of the Jews raising 
disturbances in the reign of Claudius, 
at the instigation of “ one Chrestus,” 
thus evidently mistaking the whole of 
the facts, and further making a Latin 
name, genuine indeed, but misapplied, 
of the Greek term for anointed. 

Again, the obscure historian, Vo- 
piscus, preserves a letter, written by 
the Emperor Hadrian, in which the 
Christians are confounded with the 
adorers of Serapis, and in which the 
bishops are said to be especially de- 

G 


voted to the worship of that strange 
god, who was introduced into Egypt 
by the Ptolemies (Waddington, His¬ 
tory of the Church, p. 37.); and even 
Eusebius himself did not properly 
distinguish between Christians and 
the Essenic Therapeutae (Strauss, 
Life of Jesus , i. 294.), although the 
latter formed essentially a mere sect, 
or order, affecting asceticism and 
mystery. 

It is proper to add that Mr. New¬ 
man quotes the descriptions of Taci¬ 
tus and others as referring really to 
Christians and not to Jews ( On the 
Development of Christian Doctrine , 
p. 205, &c.) He may be right, but 
the grounds of his dissent from the 
views of preceding scholars are not 
given. 

j- Some accounts represent Bunda 
to have been a native of Northern 
India, and the writer, followed by 
Major Browne ( India Tracts , ii. 9.), 
says he was born in the Jalundhur 
Dooab. 

“ Bunda” signifies the slave , and 
Suroop Chund the author of the 
Goor Rutnaolee, states that the By¬ 
raghee took the name or title when 
he met Govind in the south, and 
found that the powers of his tutelary 
god Vishnoo, were ineffectual in the 
presence of the Gooroo. Thence¬ 
forward, he said, he would be the 
slave of Govind. 

2 


1708— 

1716. 

i _ j 

V 


Bunda suc¬ 
ceeds 

Govind as a 

temporal 

leader. 



84 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1708— 
1716. 


Proceeds to 
the north, 
and cap¬ 
tures 
Sirhind, 
1709-10. 


The em¬ 
peror 
marches 
towards 
Lahore. 


But Bunda 
is in the 
mean time 
driven to¬ 
wards Jum- 
moo. 


Buhadur 
Shah dies at 
Lahore, 
1712. 


commanding spirit was no more. The Sikhs gathered 
in numbers round Bunda when he reached the north¬ 
west, bearing with him the arrows of Govind as the 
pledge of victory. Bunda put to flight the Moghul 
authorities in the neighborhood of Sirhind, and then 
attacked, defeated, and slew the governor of the pro¬ 
vince. Sirhind was plundered, and the Hindoo betrayer 
and Mussulman destroyer of Govind’s children, were 
themselves put to death by the avenging Sikhs.* Bunda 
next established a stronghold below the hills of Sir- 
moor t, he occupied the country between the Sutlej and 
Jumna, and he laid waste the district of Seharunpoor. t 
Buhadur Shah, the emperor, had subdued his re¬ 
bellious brother Kambukhsh, he had come to terms 
with the Mahrattas, and he was desirous of reducing 
the princes of Rajpootana to their old dependence, when 
he heard of the defeat of his troops and the sack of his 
city by the hitherto unknown Bunda. § He hastened 
towards the Punjab, and he did not pause to enter his 
capital after his southern successes ; but in the mean 
time his generals had defeated a body of Sikhs near 
Paneeput, and Bunda was surrounded in his new 
stronghold. A zealous convert, disguised like his leader, 
allowed himself to be captured during a sally of the 
besieged, and Bunda withdrew with all his followers. || 
After some successful skirmishes he established himself 
near Jummoo in the hills north of Lahore, and laid the 
fairest part of the Punjab under contribution. Buhadur 

* For several particulars, true or Sadowra, which lies N. E. from Am- 
fanciful, relating to the capture of bala, and it appears to be the “ Loh- 
Sirhind, see Browne, India Tracts , gurh,” that is, the iron or strong fort, 
ii. 9, 10. See also Elphinstone, His - of the Seir ool Mutakhereen (i.115.). 
tory of India , ii. 565, 566. Vuzeer { Forster, Travels , i. 304. 

Khan was clearly the name of the § Compare Elphinstone, History 
governor, and not Fowjdar Khan, as of India , ii. 561., and Forster, Tra- 
mentioned by Malcolm ( Sketch , p. vels, i. 304. This was in 1709-10 
77,78.). Vuzeer Khan was indeed a. d. 

the “ Fowjdar,” or military com- || Compare Elphinstone, History , 
mander in the province, and the word ii. 566., and Forster, Travels , i. 305. 
is as often used as a proper name as The zeal of the devotee was applauded 
to denote an office. without being pardoned by the em- 

f This was at Mookhlispoor, near peror. 


Chai*. HI.] 


BUNDA. 


85 


Shah had by this time advanced to Lahore in person, 
and he died there in the month of February 1712 .* 

The death of the emperor brought on another contest 
for the throne. His eldest son, Jehandar Shah, retained 
power for a year, but in February 1713 he was defeated 
and put to death by his nephew Ferokhseer. These 
commotions were favorable to the Sikhs; they again 
became united and formidable, and they built for them¬ 
selves a considerable fort, named Goordaspoor, between 
the Beeas and Ravee.t The viceroy of Lahore marched 
against Bunda, but he was defeated in a pitched battle, 
and the Sikhs sent forward a party towards Sirhind, 
the governor of which, Bayezeed Khan, advanced to 
oppose them. A fanatic crept under his tent and mor¬ 
tally wounded him ; the Mahometans dispersed, but the 
city does not seem to have fallen a second time a prey 
to the exulting Sikhs. J The emperor now ordered 
Abdool Summud Khan, the governor of Cashmeer, a 
Tooranee noble and a skilful general, to assume the 
command in the Punjab, and he sent to his aid some 
chosen troops from the eastward. Abdool Summud 
Khan brought with him some thousands of his own 
warlike countrymen, and as soon as he was in posses¬ 
sion of a train of artillery he left Lahore, and, falling 
upon the Sikh army, he defeated it, after a fierce 
resistance on the part of Bunda. The success was 
followed up, and Bunda retreated from post to post, 
fighting valiantly and inflicting heavy losses on his 
victors; but he was at length compelled to shelter him¬ 
self in the fort of Goordaspoor. He was closely be¬ 
sieged ; nothing could be conveyed to him from without; 
and after consuming all his provisions, and eating 
horses, asses, and even the forbidden ox, he was re- 

* Compare the Seir ool Mutakhe- now contains a monastery of Sarsoot 
reen, i. 109. 112. Brahmins, who have adopted many of 

f Goordaspoor is near Kullanowr, the Sikh modes and tenets, 
where Akber was saluted as emperor, f Some accounts nevertheless re- 
and it appears to be the Lohgurh of present Bunda to have again pos- 
the ordinary accounts followed by sessed himself of Sirhind. 

Forster, Malcolm, and others. It 


1708— 

1716. 



Jehandar 
Shah slain 
by Ferokh¬ 
seer, who 
becomes 
emperor, 
1713. 


The Sikhs 
reappear 
under Bun¬ 
da, and the 
province of 
Sirhind 
plundered. 


Bunda 
eventually 
reduced and 
taken pri¬ 
soner, A. D. 
1716; 


86 


HISTOKY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1708— 

1716. 

i » 

Y 


and put to 
death at 
Delhi. 


The views 
of Bunda 
confined 
and his 
memory not 
revered. 


duced to submit.* Some of the Sikhs were put to 
death, and their heads were borne on pikes before 
Bunda and others as they were marched to Delhi with 
all the signs of ignominy usual with bigots, and com¬ 
mon among barbarous or half civilized conquerors.! 
A hundred Sikhs were put to death daily, contending 
among themselves for priority of martyrdom, and on 
the eighth day Bunda himself was arraigned before his 
judges. A Mahometan noble asked the ascetic from 
conviction, how one of his knowledge and understanding 
could commit crimes which would dash him into hell ; 
but Bunda answered that he had been as a mere scourge 
in the hands of God for the chastisement of the wicked, 
and that he was now receiving the meed of his own 
crimes against the Almighty. His son was placed upon 
his knees,—a knife was put into his hands, and he was 
required to take the life of his child. He did so, silent 
and unmoved; his own flesh was then torn with red- 
hot pincers, and amid these torments he expired, his 
dark soul, say the Mahometans, winging its way to 
the regions of the damned.! 

The memory of Bunda is not held in much esteem 
by the Sikhs; he appears to have been of a gloomy 
disposition, and he was obeyed as an energetic and 
daring leader, without being able to engage the per¬ 
sonal sympathies of his followers. He did not perhaps 


* Compare Malcolm, Sketch,^. 79, 
80., Forster, Travels, i. 306. and 
note, and the Seir ool Mutakhereen, i. 
116, 117. The ordinary accounts 
make the Sikh army amount to 
35,000 men (Forster says 20,000); 
they also detain Abdool Summud a 
year at Lahore before he undertook 
anything, and they bring down all 
the hill chiefs to his aid, both of 
which circumstances are probable 
enough. 

t Seir ool Mutakhereen, i. 118. 
120. Elphinstone ( History , ii. 574, 
575.), quoting the contemporary Kha- 
fee Khan,says the prisoners amounted 


to 740. The Seir ool Mutakhereen 
relates how the old mother of Baye- 
zeed Khan killed the assassin of her 
son, by letting fall a stone on his 
head, as he and the other prisoners 
were being led through the streets of 
Lahore. 

j Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 82.), who 
quotes the Seir ool Mutakhereen. 
The defeat and death of Bunda are 
placed by the Seir ool Mutakhereen 
(i. 109.), by Orme ( History , ii. 22.), 
and apparently by Elphinstone ( His¬ 
tory. , ii. 564.), in the year 1716 a.d. ; 
but Forster ( Travels , i. 306, note) 
has the date 1714. 



Chap. III.] 


SIKHISM : RECAPITULATION. 


87 


comprehend the general nature of Nanuk’s and Govind’s 
reforms; the spirit of sectarianism possessed him, and 
he endeavored to introduce changes into the modes 
and practices enjoined by these teachers, which should 
be more in accordance with his own ascetic and Hindoo 
notions. These unwise innovations and restrictions were 
resisted by the more zealous Sikhs, and they may have 
caused the memory of an able and enterprizing leader 
to be generally neglected.* 

After the death of Bunda an active persecution was 
kept up against the Sikhs, whose losses in battle had 
been great and depressing. All who could be seized 
had to suffer death, or to renounce their faith. A 
price, indeed, was put upon their heads, and so vigor¬ 
ously were the measures of prudence, or of vengeance, 
followed up, that many conformed to Hindooism ; others 
abandoned the outward signs of their belief, and the 
more sincere had to seek a refuge among the recesses 
of the hills, or in the woods to the south of the Sutlej. 
The Sikhs were scarcely again heard of in history for 
the period of a generation.! 

Thus, at the end of two centuries, had the Sikh 
faith become established as a prevailing sentiment and 
guiding principle to work its way in the world. Nanuk 
disengaged his little society of worshippers from Hindoo 
idolatry and Mahometan superstition, and placed them 
free on a broad basis of religious and moral purity; 
Ummer Das preserved the infant community from de¬ 
clining into a sect of quietists or ascetics; Arjoon gave 
his increasing followers a written rule of conduct and a 

* Compare Malcolm, Sketch , p. tion or salutation, “ Wah Gooroo ke 
83, 84. But Bunda is sometimes Futteh! ” which had been used or or- 
styled Gooroo by Indians, as in the dained by Govind, into “ Futteh 
Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 114.), and Dhurrum!”and “ Futteh Dursun 1” 
there is still an order of half-con- (Victory to faith! Victory to the 
formist Sikhs which regards him as sect!) Compare Malcolm, Sketch , p. 
its founder. Bunda, it is reported, 83, 84. 

wished to establish a sect of his f Compare Forster ( Travels , i. 
own, saying that of Govind could not 312, 313.), and Browne (India 
endure ; and he is further declared to Tracts, ii. 13.), and also Malcolm 
have wished to change the exclama- ( Sketch , p. 85, 86.). 


1708— 

1716. 


The Sikhs 
generally 
much de¬ 
pressed after 
the death 
of Bunda. 


Recapitu¬ 

lation. 

Nanuk. 


Ummer 

Das. 

Arjoon. 



88 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. III. 


1708— 

1716. 


Hur Go- 
vind. 


Govind 

Singh. 


civil organization; Hur Govind added the use of arms 
and a military system ; and Govind Singh bestowed 
upon them a distinct political existence, and inspired 
them with the desire of being socially free and nationally 
independent. No further legislation was required; a 
firm persuasion had been elaborated, and a vague feel¬ 
ing had acquired consistence as an active principle. The 
operation of this faith become a fact, is only now in 
progress, and the fruit it may yet bear cannot be fore¬ 
seen. Sikhism arose where fallen and corrupt Brah- 
minical doctrines were most strongly acted on by the vital 
and spreading Mahometan belief. It has now come 
into contact with the civilization and Christianity of 
Europe, and the result can only be known to a distant 
posterity.* 


* There are also elements of change 
within Sikhism itself, and dissent is 
everywhere a source of weakness and 
decay, although sometimes it denotes 
a temporary increase of strength and 
energy. Sikh sects, at least of qui- 
etists, are already numerous, although 
the great development of the tenets of 
Gooroo Govind has thrown other de¬ 
nominations into the shade. Thus the 
prominent division into “ Khulasa,” 
meaning of Nanuk, and “ Khalsa,” 
meaning of Govind, which is noticed 


by Forster ( Travels , i. 309.), is no 
longer in force. The former term, 
Khulasa, is almost indeed unknown 
in the present day, while all claim 
membership with the Khalsa. Never¬ 
theless, the peaceful Sikhs of the first 
teacher are still to be everywhere met 
with in the cities of India, although 
the warlike Singhs of the tenth king 
have become predominant in the 
Punjab, and have scattered them¬ 
selves as soldiers from Caubul to the 
south of India. 


Note. — The reader is referred to Appendices T. II. III. and IV. for 
some account of the Grunt’hs of the Sikhs, for some illustrations of prin¬ 
ciples and practices taken from the writings of the Gooroos, and for abstracts 
of certain letters attributed to Nanuk and Govind, and which are descrip¬ 
tive of some views and modes of the Sikh people. Appendix V. may also 
be referred to for a list of some Sikh sects or denominations. 



Chap. IV.] MOGHUL EMPIRE DECLINES. 


89 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SIKH INDEPENDENCE. 

1716—1764. 

Decline of the Moghul Empire. — Gradual reappearance of 
the Sikhs .— The Sikhs coerced by Meer Munnoo , and per¬ 
secuted by Tymoor the son of Ahmed Shah. — The Army 
of the “Khalsa ” and the State of the “ Khalsa” proclaimed 
to be substantive Powers. — Adeena Beg Khan and the 
Mahrattas under Ragoba. — Ahmed Shah's incursions 
and victories. — The provinces of Sirhind and Lahore 
possessed in sovereignty by the Sikhs. — The political 
organization of the Sikhs as a feudal confederacy. — 

The Order of Akalees. 

Aurungzeb was the last of the race of Tymoor who 
possessed a genius for command, and in governing a 
large empire of incoherent parts and conflicting prin- The Moghul 
ciples, his weak successors had to lean upon the ^diy de¬ 
doubtful loyalty of selfish and jealous ministers, and ciines. 
to prolong a nominal rule by opposing insurrectionary ^Mah-^ 
subjects to rebellious dependents. Within a genera- rattas, &c. 
tion Mahometan adventurers had established separate 
dominations in Bengal, Lucknow, and Hydrabad ; the 
Mahratta Peshwah had startled the Moslems of India 
by suddenly appearing in arms before the imperial 
city*, and the stern usurping Nadir had scornfully 
hailed the long descended Mahomed Shah as a brother 
Toork in the heart of his blood-stained capital.! The 

* This was in 1737 a.d., when f See Nadir Shah’s letter to his 
Bajee Rao, the Peshwah, made an son, relating his successful invasion 
incursion from Agra towards Delhi, of India. ( Asiatic Researches, x. 545, 

(See Elphinstone, History, ii. 609., 546.) 
and Grant Duff’s History of the 
Mahrattas, i. 533, 534.) 


1716— 
1738. 


90 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IY. 


1716— 
1738. 


The weak¬ 
ness of the 
Mahometan 
government 
favorable 
to the 
Sikhs, 1716 
—1738. 


The Sikhs 
kept to¬ 
gether by 
the fervor 
of their be¬ 
lief. 


Afghan colonists of Rohilkhund and the Hindoo Jats 
of Bhurtpoor, had raised themselves to importance as 
substantive powers*, and when the Persian conqueror 
departed with the spoils of Delhi, the government was 
weaker, and society was more disorganized, than when 
the fugitive Baber entered India in search of a throne 
worthy of his lineage and his personal merits. 

These commotions were favorable to the reappear¬ 
ance of a depressed sect; but the delegated rule of 
Abdool Summud in Lahore was vigorous, and, both 
under him and his weaker successor!, the Sikhs com¬ 
ported themselves as peaceful subjects in their villages, 
or lurked in woods and valleys to obtain a precarious 
livelihood as robbers.! The tenets of Nanuk and Govind 
had nevertheless taken root in the hearts of the people; 
the peasant and the mechanic nursed their faith in 
secret, and the more ardent clung to the hope of ample 
revenge and speedy victory. The departed Gooroo had 
declared himself the last of the prophets ; the believers 
were without a temporal guide, and rude untutored 
men, accustomed to defer to their teacher as divine, 
were left to work their way to greatness, without an 
ordained method, and without any other bond of union 
than the sincerity of their common faith. The progress 
of the new religion, and the ascendancy of its votaries, 
had thus been trusted to the pregnancy of the truths 
announced, and to the fitness of the Indian mind for 
their reception. The general acknowledgment of the 
most simple and comprehensive principle is sometimes 
uncertain, and is usually slow and irregular, and this 
fact should be held in view in considering the history 


* A valuable account of the Ro- 
liillas may be found in Forster's Tra¬ 
vels (i. 115. &c.), and the public is 
indebted to the Oriental Translation 
Committee of London for the me¬ 
moirs of Hafiz Rehmut Khan, one 
of the most eminent of their leaders. 

The Jats of Bhurtpoor and Dhol- 


poor, and of Hattrass and other minor 
places, deserve a separate history. 

f He was likewise the son of the 
conqueror of Bunda. His name was 
Zukareea Khan, and his title Khan 
Buhadur. 

I Compare Forster's Travels , i. 
313., and Browne’s Lidia Tracts, ii. 1 3. 


Chap. IV.] 


THE SIKHS REAPPEAR. 


91 


of the Sikhs from the death of Govind to the present 
time. 

During the invasion of Nadir Shah, the Sikhs col¬ 
lected in small bands, and plundered both the stragglers 
of the Persian army and the wealthy inhabitants who 
fled towards the hills on the first appearance of the 
conqueror, or when the massacre at Delhi became 
generally known.* The impunity which attended these 
efforts encouraged them to bolder attempts, and they 
began to visit Amritsir openly instead of in secrecy and 
disguise. The Sikh horseman, says a Mahometan 
author, might be seen riding at full gallop to pay his 
devotions at that holy shrine. Some might be slain, 
and some might be captured, but none were ever 
known to abjure their creed, when thus taken on their 
way to that sacred place.t Some Sikhs next succeeded 
in establishing a small fort at Dullehwal on the Ravee, 
and they were unknown or disregarded, until consider¬ 
able numbers assembled and proceeded to levy contri¬ 
butions around Eminabad, which lies to the north of 
Lahore. The marauders were attacked, but the de¬ 
tachment of troops was repulsed and its leader slain. 
A larger force pursued and defeated them; many 
prisoners were brought to Lahore, and the scene of 
their execution is now known as “ Shuheed Gunj,” or 
the place of martyrs.! It is further marked by the 
tomb of Bhaee Taroo Singh, who was required to cut 
his hair and to renounce his faith; but the old com- 


1738- 

1746. 


The Sikhs 
form bands 
of plun¬ 
derers, 
1738-39. 


Establish 
a fort at 
Dullehwal 
on the 
Ravee; 


hut are at 
last dis¬ 
persed 
(about) 
1745-46. 


* Browne, India Tracts, ii. 13,14. 
Nadir acquired from the Moghul 
emperor the provinces of Sindh and 
Caubul, and four districts of the pro¬ 
vince of Lahore, lying near the Jeli- 
lum river. 

Zukareea Khan, son of Abdool 
Summud, was viceroy of Lahore at 
the time. 

The defeat of the Delhi sovereign, 
and Nadir’s entry into the capital, 
took place on the 13th February and 
early in March, 1739, respectively, 
but were not known in London un¬ 


til the 1st of October, so slow were 
communications, and of so little im¬ 
portance was Delhi to Englishmen, 
three generations ago. ( Wade's Chro¬ 
nological British History, p. 417.) 

f The author is quoted, but not 
named by Malcolm, Sketch , p. 88. 

$ Compare Browne, India Tracts, 
ii. 13. ; Malcolm, Sketch, p. 86. ; and 
Murray’s Runjeet Singh, by Prinsep, 
p. 4. Yehya Khan, the elder son of 
Zukareea Khan, was governor of the 
Punjab at the time. 


92 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IV. 


1747,1748. panion of Gooroo Govind would yield neither his 

v ---' conscience nor the symbol of his conviction, and his 

real or pretended answer is preserved to the present 
day. The hair, the scalp, and the skull, said he, have 
a mutual connection; the head of man is linked with 
life, and he was prepared to yield his breath with 
cheerfulness. 

Ahmed The viceroyalty of Lahore was about this time con- 

invasion^f teste( l between the two sons of Zukareea Khan, the 
India, successor of Abdool Summud, who defeated Bunda. 
1/4/-48. The younger, Shah Nuwaz Khan, displaced the elder, 
and to strengthen himself in his usurpation, he opened 
a correspondence with Ahmed Shah Abdalee, who be¬ 
came master of Afghanistan on the assassination of 
Nadir Shah, in June 1747« The Dooranee king soon 
collected round his standard numbers of the hardy 
tribes of Central Asia, who delight in distant inroads 
and successful rapine. He necessarily looked to India 
as the most productive field of conquest or incursion, 
and he could cloak his ambition under the double pre¬ 
text of the tendered allegiance of the governor of 
Lahore, and of the favorable reception at Delhi of his 
enemy, Nadir Shah’s fugitive governor of Caubul. # 
Ahmed Shah crossed the Indus : but the usurping 
viceroy of Lahore had been taunted with his treason ; 
generosity prevailed over policy, and he resolved upon 
opposing the advance of the Afghans. He was de¬ 
feated, and the Abdalee became master of the Punjab. 
The Shah pursued his march to Sirhind, where he was 
Retires m et by the Vuzeer of the declining empire. Some 
hind, and is desultory skirmishing, and one more decisive action 
harassed by took place, but the result of the whole was so unfavor- 
March, ’ able to the invader, that he precipitately recrossed the 
1748. Punjab, and gave an opportunity to the watchful Sikhs 

* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, another race, as well as about ren. 
by Prinsep, p. 9. and Browne, India dering obedience to him as sovereign. 
Tracts , ii. 15. Nassir Khan, the Compare, however, Elphinstone (Ac- 
governor, hesitated about marrying count of Caubul , ii. 285.), who makes 
his daughter to Ahmed Shah, one of no mention of these particulars. 


Chap. IV.] 


ARMY OF THE KHALSA. 


93 


of harassing his rear and of gaining confidence in their 
own prowess. The minister of Delhi was killed by a 
cannon ball during the short campaign, but the gal¬ 
lantry and the services of his son, Meer Munnoo, had 
been conspicuous, and he became the viceroy of Lahore 
and Mooltan, under the title of Moyen-ool-Moolk.* 

The new governor was a man of vigor and ability, 
but his object was rather to advance his own interests 
than to serve the emperor ; and in the administration 
of his provinces, he could trust to no feelings save those 
which he personally inspired. He judiciously retained 
the services of two experienced men, Kowra Mull and 
Adeena Beg Khan, the one as his immediate deputy, 
and the other as the manager of the Jalundhur Dooab. 
Both had dealt skilfully for the times with the insur¬ 
rectionary Sikhs, who continued to press themselves 
more and more on the attention of their unloyal gover- 
nors.t During the invasion of Ahmed Shah they had 
thrown up a fort close to Amritsir, called the Ram 
Rownee, and one of their most able leaders had arisen, 
Jussa Singh Kullal, a brewer or distiller, who boldly 
proclaimed the birth of a new power in the state — the 
“Dul” of the “Khalsa,” or army of the theocracy of 
“ Singhs.” t As soon as Meer Munnoo had established 
his authority, he marched against the insurgents, cap¬ 
tured their fort, dispersed their troops, and took mea¬ 
sures for the general preservation of good order.§ His 


1748. 


Meer Mun¬ 
noo gover¬ 
nor of the 
Punjab. 

Meer Mun¬ 
noo rules 
vigorously, 
and em¬ 
ploys Kow¬ 
ra Mull and 
Adeena 
Beg Khan, 
1748. 


But the 
Sikhs reap¬ 
pear, and 
Jussa Singh 
Kullal pro¬ 
claims the 
existence of 
the “Dul” 
or army of 
the Khalsa. 

Munnoo 
disperses 
the Sikhs, 
and comes 


* Compare Elphinstone, Caubul, 
ii. 285, 286. and Murray’s Runjeet 
Singh, p. 6—8. 

f Kowra Mull was himself a fol¬ 
lower of Nanuk, without having 
adopted the tenets of Govind. (For¬ 
ster, Travels , i. 314.) Adeena Beg 
Khan was appointed manager of the 
Jalundhur Dooab by Zukareea 
Khan, with orders to coerce the 
Sikhs after Nadir Shah’s retire¬ 
ment. (Browne, India Tracts, ii. 
i4.) 

| Compare Browne, India Tracts, 
ii. 16., who gives Chersa Singh, 


Toka Singh, and Kirwur Singh, as 
the confederates of Jussa Kullal. 

§ Both Kowra Mull and Adeena 
Beg, but especially the former, the 
one from predilection, and the other 
from policy, are understood to have 
dissuaded Meer Munnoo from pro- 
oeeding to extremities against the 
Sikhs. Compare Browne, Tracts , 
ii. 16., and Forster, Travels, i. 314, 
315. 327, 328., which latter, how¬ 
ever, justly observes, that Munnoo 
had objects in view of greater mo¬ 
ment to himself than the suppression 
of an infant sect. 


94 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IY. 


1748. 


to terms 
with Ahmed 
Shah, who 
had again 
crossed the 
Indus, end 
of 1748. 


Munnoo 
breaks with 
Delhi by- 
resisting his 
superces- 
sion in 
Mooltan; 


and with¬ 
holds tri¬ 
bute from 
Ahmed 
Shah, who 
crosses the 
Indus for 


plans were interrupted by the rumored approach of a 
second Afghan invasion; he marched to the Chenab to 
repel the danger, and he despatched agents to the Doo- 
ranee camp to avert it by promises and concessions. 
Ahmed Shah’s own rule was scarcely consolidated, he 
respected the ability of the youth who had checked him 
at Sirhind, and he retired across the Indus on the 
stipulation that the revenues of four fruitful districts 
should be paid to him as they had been paid to Nadir 
Shah, from whom he pretended to derive his title.* 
Meer Munnoo gained applause at Delhi for the suc¬ 
cess of his measures, but his ambition was justly 
dreaded by the Vuzeer Sufder Jung, who knew his 
own designs on Oude, and felt that the example would 
not be lost on the son of his predecessor. It was pro¬ 
posed to reduce his power by conferring the province of 
Mooltan on Shah Nuwaz Khan, whom Meer Munnoo 
himself had supplanted in Lahore!; but Munnoo had an 
accurate knowledge of the imperial power and of his 
own resources, and he sent his deputy, Kowra Mull, to re¬ 
sist the new governor. Shah Nuwaz Khan was defeated 
and slain, and the elated viceroy conferred the title of 
Muharaja on his successful follower.! This virtual in¬ 
dependence of Delhi, and the suppression of Sikh dis¬ 
turbances, emboldened Munnoo to persevere in his 
probably original design, and to withhold the promised 
tribute from Ahmed Shah. A pretence of demanding 
it was made, and the payment of all arrears was offered, 
but neither party felt that the other could be trusted, 
and the Afghan king marched towards Lahore. Mun- 


* The Afghans state that Meer 
Munnoo also became the Shah's tribu¬ 
tary for the whole of the Punjab, and, 
doubtless, he promised any thing to 
get the invader away and to be left 
alone. (Compare Elphinstone, Cau- 
bul, ii. 286., and Murray, Runjeet 
Singh,‘p. 9, 10.) 

f Heiatoolla Khan, the younger 
son of Zukareea Khan, is stated in 


local Mooltan chronicles to have held 
that province when Nadir Shah en¬ 
tered Sindh, in 1739-40, to fairly 
settle and subdue it, and to have 
then tendered his allegiance to the 
Persian conqueror, from whom he 
received the title of Shah Nuwaz 
Khan. 

t Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
p. 10. 


Chap. IV .] 


JUSSA THE CARPENTER. 


95 


noo made a show of meeting him on the frontier, hut 
finally he took up an entrenched position under the 
walls of the city. Had he remained on the defensive, 
the Abdalee might probably have been foiled, but, after 
a four months’ beleaguer, he was tempted to risk an 
action. Kowra Mull was killed ; Adeena Beg scarcely 
exerted himself; Munnoo saw that a prolonged contest 
would be ruinous, and he prudently retired to the citadel 
and gave in his adhesion to the conqueror. The Shah 
was satisfied with the surrender of a considerable trea¬ 
sure and with the annexation of Lahore and Mooltan to 
his dominions. He expressed his admiration of Mun- 
noo’s spirit as a leader, and efficiency as a manager, and 
he continued him as his own delegate in the new acqui¬ 
sitions. The Shah took measures to bring Cashmeer 
also under his sway, and then retired towards his native 
country.* 

This second capture of Lahore by strangers neces¬ 
sarily weakened the administration of the province, and 
the Sikhs, ever ready to rise, again became trouble¬ 
some ; but Adeena Beg found it advisable at the time to 
do away with the suspicions which attached to his in¬ 
action at Lahore, and to the belief that he temporized 
with insurgent peasantry for purposes of his own. He 
was required to bring the Sikhs to order, for they had 
virtually possessed themselves of the country lying be¬ 
tween Amritsir and the hills. He fell suddenly upon 
them during a day of festival at Makhowal, and gave 
them a total defeat. But his object was still to be 
thought their friend, and he came to an understanding 
with them that their payment of their own rents should 
be nominal or limited, and their exactions from others 
moderate or systematic. He took also many of them 
into his pay; one of the number being Jussa Singh, a 
carpenter, who afterwards became a chief of conside¬ 
ration^ 

* Compare Elphinstone, Caubul, f Compare Browne, India Tracts , 
ii. 288., and Murray’s Runjeet Singh, ii. 17., and Malcolm, Sketch , p. 82. 
p. 10. 13. 


1749— 

1752. 

the third 
time, 1749- 
61. 


Abdalee 

reaches 

Lahore, 

1752, 


and defeats 
Munnoo; 
but retains 
him as 
governor of 
the Punjab, 
April, 1752. 


The Sikhs 
gradually 
increase in 
strength; 


but are de¬ 
feated by 
Adeena Beg, 
who never¬ 
theless gives 
them fa¬ 
vourable 
terms, 1752 

A. D. 


Jussa the 
carpenter. 


[Chap. IV. 


96 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


.758,1756. 


Meer Mun- 
noo dies, 
and Lahore 
is rean¬ 
nexed to 
Delhi, end 
of 1752. 


Ahmed 
Shah’s 
fourth in¬ 
vasion. 
Prince Ty- 
moor, go¬ 
vernor of 
the Punjab, 
and Nujeeb- 
ooddowla 
placed at 
the head of 
the Delhi 
army, 1755 
-56. 


Meer Munnoo died a few months after the re-esta- 
blishment of his authority as the deputy of a new 
master.* His widow succeeded in procuring the ac¬ 
knowledgment of his infant son as viceroy under her 
own guardianship, and she endeavored to stand equally 
well with the court of Delhi and with the Dooranee 
king. She professed submission to both, and she be¬ 
trothed her daughter to Ghazeeooddeen, the grandson 
of the first Nizam of the Deccan, who had supplanted 
the viceroy of Oude, as the minister of the enfeebled 
empire of India, t But the Vuzeer wished to recover 
a province for his sovereign, as well as to obtain a bride 
for himself. He proceeded to Lahore and removed his 
enraged mother-in-law; and the Punjab remained for 
a time under the nominal rule of Adeena Beg Khan, 
until Ahmed Shah again marched and made it his own. 
The Dooranee king passed through Lahore in the 
winter of 1755-56, leaving his son Tymoor under the 
tutelage of a chief, named Jehan Khan, as governor. 
The Shah likewise annexed Sirhind to his territories, 
and although he extended his pardon to Ghazeeooddeen 
personally, he did not return to Candahar until he had 
plundered Delhi and Muttra, and placed Nujeebood- 
dowla, a Rohilla leader, near the person of the Vuzeer’s 
puppet king, as the titular commander of the forces of 
the Delhi empire, and as the efficient representative of 
Abdalee interests, t 


* Forster ( Travels , i. 315.) and 
Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 92.), say 1752. 
Browne ( Tracts , ii. 18.) gives the 
Hijree year, 1165, which corresponds 
with 1751, 1752 a.d. Murray ( Run - 
jeet Singh , p. 13.) simply says, 
Munnoo did not long survive his 
submission, but Elphinstone ( Caubul, 
ii. 288.) gives 1756 as the date of the 
viceroy’s death. 

f The original name of Ghazee¬ 
ooddeen was Shahab-ood-deen, cor¬ 
rupted into Sahoodeen and Shaodeen 
by the Mahrattas. 

{ Compare Forster, Travels, i. 316, 


317.; Brown, Tracts, ii. 48.; Mal¬ 
colm, Sketch, p. 92. 94.; Elphin¬ 
stone, Caubul, ii. 288. 289. ; and 
Murray, Runjeet Singh, p. 14, 15. 

During the nominal viceroyalty 
of Meer Munnoo’s widow, one 
Beekaree Khan played a conspicuous 
part as her deputy. He was finally 
put to death by the lady as one who 
designed to supplant her authority; 
but he was, nevertheless, supposed to 
have been her paramour. (Compare 
Browne, ii. 18., and Murray, p. 14.) 
The gilt mosque at Lahore was 
built by this Beekaree Khan. 


Chap. IV.] 


THE SIKHS COIN MONEY. 


97 


Prince Tymoor’s first object was to thoroughly dis¬ 
perse the insurgent Sikhs, and to punish Adeena Beg 
for the support which he had given to the Delhi minister 
in recovering Lahore. Jussa, the carpenter, had re¬ 
stored the Ram Rownee of Amritsir; that place was 
accordingly attacked, the fort was levelled, the build¬ 
ings were demolished, and the sacred reservoir was 
filled with the ruins. Adeena Beg would not t r ust 
the prince, and retired to the hills, secretly aiding and 
encouraging the Sikhs in their desire for revenge. 
They assembled in great numbers, for the faith of Go- 
vind was the living conviction of hardy single-minded 
villagers, rather than the ceremonial belief of busy 
citizens, with thoughts diverted by the opposing in¬ 
terests and conventional usages of artificial society. 
The country around Lahore swarmed with horsemen ; 
the prince and his guardian were wearied with their 
cumbrous efforts to scatter them, and they found it 
prudent to retire towards the Chenab. Lahore was 
temporarily occupied by the triumphant Sikhs, and the 
same Jussa Singh, who had proclaimed the “ Khalsa ” 
to be a state and to possess an army, now gave it an¬ 
other symbol of substantive power. He used the mint 
of the Moghuls to strike a rupee bearing the inscrip¬ 
tion, “ Coined by the grace of the 6 Khalsa’ in the 
country of Ahmed, conquered by Jussa the Kullal.” * 
The Delhi minister had about this time called in the 
Mahrattas to enable him to expell Nujeebooddowla, 
who, by his own address and power, and as the agent 
of Ahmed Shah Abdalee, had become paramount in 
the imperial councils. Ghazeeooddeen easily induced 
Ragoba, the Peshwah’s brother, to advance ; Delhi was 
occupied by the Mahrattas, and Nujeebooddowla escaped 
with difficulty. Adeena Beg found the Sikhs less wil- 


1756— 

1758. 

Tymoor ex¬ 
pels the 
Sikhs from 
Amritsir. 


But the 
Afghans 
eventually 
retire, and 
the Sikhs 
occupy La¬ 
hore and 
coin money, 
1756-58. 


The Mah¬ 
rattas at 
Delhi, 1758. 


* Compare Browne, Tracts, ii. 19. ; counts, says Adeena Beg defeated 
Malcolm, Sketch, p. 93., &c.; El- a body of Tymoor’s troops; and Mur- 
phinstone, Caubul, ii. 289.; and Mur- ray, using apparently the accounts of 
ray’s Ruvjeet Singh, p. 15. Punjab Mahometans, omits the oc- 

Elphinstone, using Afghan ac- cupation of Lahore by the Sikhs. 

H 


9S 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IV. 



Ragoba en¬ 
ters Lahore, 
and ap¬ 
points 
Adeena 
Beg viceroy 
of the Pun¬ 
jab, May, 
1758. 

Adeena Beg 
dies, end of 
1758. 


Ahmed 
Shah’s 
fifth expe¬ 
dition, 1759 
-61. 


ling to defer to him than he had hoped; they were, 
moreover, not powerful enough to enable him to govern 
the Punjab unaided, and he accordingly invited the 
Mahrattas to extend their arms to the Indus. He had 
also a body of Sikh followers, and he marched from 
the Jumna in company with Ragoba. Ahmed Shah’s 
governor of Sirhind was expelled, but Adeena Beg’s 
Sikh allies incensed the Mahrattas by anticipating 
them in the plunder of the town, which, after two 
generations of rapine, they considered as peculiarly 
their right. The Sikhs evacuated Lahore, and the 
several Afghan garrisons retired and left the Mahrattas 
masters of Mooltan and of Attok, as well as of the capital 
itself. Adeena Beg became the governor of the Pun¬ 
jab, but his vision of complete independence was arrested 
by death, and a few months after he had established his 
authority, he was laid in his grave.* The Mahrattas 
seemed to see all India at their feet, and they concerted 
with Ghazeeooddeen a scheme pleasing to both, the 
reduction of Oude and the expulsion of the Rohillas.t 
But the loss of the Punjab brought Ahmed Shah a 
second time to the banks of the Jumna, and dissipated 
for ever the Mahratta dreams of supremacy, t 

The Dooranee king marched from Belotchistan up 
the Indus to Peshawur, and thence across the Punjab. 
His presence caused Mooltan and Lahore to be evacu¬ 
ated by the Mahrattas, and his approach induced the 
Vuzeer Ghazeeooddeen to take the life of the em¬ 
peror, while the young prince, afterwards Shah Alum, 
was absent endeavoring to gain strength by an alliance 
with the English, the new masters of Bengal. The 
Mahratta commanders, Sindhia and Holkar, were sepa- 


* Compare Browne, India Tracts, J Nujeebooddowla, and the Rohil- 
ii. 19, 20. ; Forster, Travels, i. 317, las likewise, urged Ahmed to return, 
318. ; Elphinstone, Caubul, ii. 290.; when they saw their villages set on 
and Grant Duffs History of the Mali- flames by the Mahrattas. Elphin- 
rattas, ii. 132. Adeena Beg appears stone, India, ii. 670., and Browne, 
to have died before the end of 1758. Tracts, ii. 20. 

f Compare Elphinstone, History 
of India, ii. 669, 670. 


Chap. IV.] THE AFGHANS AND MAHRATTAS. 


99 


rately overpowered; the Afghan king occupied Delhi, 
and then advanced towards the Ganges to engage 
Shoojaooddowla, of Oude, in the general confederacy 
against the southern Hindoos, who were about to make 
an effort for the final extinction of the Mahometan rule. 
A new commander, untried in the northern wars, but 
accompanied by the Peshwah’s heir and by all the Mah- 
ratta chiefs of name, was advancing from Poonah, con¬ 
fident in his fortune and in his superior numbers. Se- 
dasheo Rao easily expelled the Afghan detachment from 
Delhi, while the main body was occupied in the Dooab, 
and he vainly talked of proclaiming young Wiswas Rao 
to be the paramount of India. But Ahmed Shah gained 
his great victory of Paneeput in the beginning of I7GI, 
and both the influence of the Peshwah among his own 
people, and the power of the Mahrattas in Hindostan, 
received a blow, from which neither fully recovered, and 
which, indirectly, aided the accomplishment of their 
desires by almost unheeded foreigners.* 

The Afghan king returned to Caubul immediately 
after the battle, leaving deputies in Sirhind and Lahore t, 
and the Sikhs only appeared, during this campaign, as 
predatory hands hovering round the Dooranee army; 
but the absence of all regular government gave them 
additional strength, and they became not only masters 
of their own villages, but began to erect forts for the 
purpose of keeping stranger communities in check. 
Among others Churrut Singh, the grandfather of Run- 
jeet Singh, established a stronghold of the kind in his 
wife’s village of Goojrnaolee (or Gooajrahwala), to the 
northward of Lahore. The Dooranee governor, or his 
deputy, Kwaja Obeid, went to reduce it in the begin- 


1760,1761. 


Delhi occu¬ 
pied by the 
Afghans, 
but after¬ 
wards taken 
by the 
Mahrattas, 
1760. 


The Mah¬ 
rattas sig¬ 
nally de¬ 
feated at 
Paneeput, 
and expelled 
temporarily 
from Upper 
India, 7th 
Jan. 1761. 


The Sikhs 
unre¬ 
strained in 
the open 
country. 


* Browne, India Tracts, ii. 20, 
21. ; Elphinstone, History of India, 
ii. 670., &c.; and Murray’s Runjeet 
Singh, pp. 17. 20. 

Elphinstone says the Mahratta 
leader only delayed to proclaim Wis¬ 
was the paramount of Hindostan 


until the Dooranees should be driven 
across the Indus, See also Grant 
Duff’s History of the Mahrattas, ii. 
142. and note. 

■f Boolund Khan in Lahore, and 
Zein Khan in Sirhind, according to 
Browne, India Tracts, ii. 21. 23. 


100 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IV. 


1761 , 1762 . ning of 1762 *, and the Sikhs assembled for its relief. 

'- <~ J The Afghan was repulsed, he left his baggage to be 

waiaTuc- plundered, and fled to shut himself up within the walls 
cessfuiiy of Lahore.t The governor of Sirhind held his ground 
churrut by better, for he was assisted by an active Mahometan 
Singh, and leader of the country, Hinghun Khan of Malerh Kotla; 
nees^orT" but ^ ie Sikhs resented this hostility of an Indian Puthan 
fined to as they did the treason of a Hindoo religionist of Jin- 
17*61-62. deeala, who wore a sword like themselves, and yet 
The Sikhs adhered to Ahmed Shah. The “army of the Khalsa” 
assembled at Amritsir, the faithful performed their 
ablutions in the restored pool, and perhaps the first 
regular “ Gooroomutta,” or diet or conclave, was held 
on this occasion. The possessions of Hinghun Khan 
were ravaged, and Jindeeala was invested, preparatory 
to attempts of greater moment.! 

But the restless Ahmed Shah was again at hand. 
This prince, the very ideal of the Afghan genius, hardy 
and enterprizing, fitted for conquest, yet incapable of 
empire, seemed but to exist for the sake of losing and 
recovering provinces. He reached Lahore towards the 
end of 176^, and the Sikhs retired to the south of the 
Sutlej, perhaps with some design of joining their 
brethren who were watching Sirhind, and of over¬ 
powering Zein Khan the governor, before they should 
be engaged with Ahmed Shah himself; but in two 
long and rapid marches from Lahore, by way of Loo- 
diana, the king came up with the Sikhs when they 
were about to enter into action with his lieutenant. He 
gave them a total defeat, and the Mahometans were as 
active in the pursuit as they had been ardent in the 


The “Ghu 
loo Ghara,’ 
or great de¬ 
feat of the 


* Murray (Runjeet Singh, p. 21.) 
makes Kwaja Obeid the governor, 
and he may have succeeded or re* 
presented Boolund Khan, whom other 
accounts show to have occasionally 
resided at Rhotas. Goojranwala is 
the more common, if less ancient, form 
of the name of the village attacked. 
It was also the place of Runjeet 


Singh’s birth, and is now a fair sized 
and thriving town. (Compare Moon * 
she Shahamut Alee's Sikhs and Afghans, 
p. 51.) 

f Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 22, 
23. 

| Compare Browne, India Tracts, 
ii. 22, 23., and Murray’s Runjeet 
Singh, p. 23. 


Chap. IV.] 


INCREASE OF SIKH POWER. 


101 


attack. The Sikhs are variously reported to have lost 
from twelve to twenty-five thousand men, and the rout 
is still familiarly known as the “ Ghuloo Ghara,” or 
great disaster.* Alha Singh, the founder of the present 
family of Putteeala, was among the prisoners, but his 
manly deportment pleased the warlike king, and the 
conqueror may not have been insensible to the policy of 
widening the difference between a Malwa and a Manjha 
Singh. He was declared a raja of the state and dis¬ 
missed with honor. The Shah had an interview at 
Sirhind with his ally or dependent Nujeebooddowla; 
he made a Hindoo, named Kabulee Mull, his governor 
of Lahore, and then hastened towards Candahar to sup¬ 
press an insurrection in that distant quarter ; but he 
first gratified his own resentment, and indulged the 
savage bigotry of his followers, by destroying the re¬ 
newed temples of Amritsir, by polluting the pool with 
slaughtered cows, by encasing numerous pyramids with 
the heads of decapitated Sikhs, and by cleansing the 
walls of desecrated mosques with the blood of his infidel 
enemies.t 

The Sikhs were not cast down ; they received daily 
accessions to their numbers; a vague feeling that they 
were a people had arisen among them ; all were bent on 
revenge, and their leaders were ambitious of dominion 
and of fame. Their first efforts were directed against 
the Puthan colony of Kussoor, which place they took 
and plundered, and they then fell upon and slew their 
old enemy Hinghun Khan of Malerh Kotla. They 
next marched towards Sirhind, and the court of Delhi 
was incapable of raising an arm in support of Mahomet¬ 
anism. Zein Khan, the Afghan governor, gave battle 


1762,1763. 


Sikhs near 
Loodiana, 
Feb. 1762. 
Alha Singh 
of Puttee¬ 
ala. 


Kabulee 
Mull go¬ 
vernor of 
Lahore. 


Ahmed 

Shah 

retires after 
committing 
various ex¬ 
cesses, 
end of 
1762. 

The Sikhs 
continue to 
increase in 
strength. 


Kussoor 

plundered. 


* The scene of the fight lay be- Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 23. 25. 
tween Goojerwal and Bernala, per- The action appears to have been 
haps twenty miles south from Loo- fought in February, 1762. 
diana. Hinghou Khan, of Malerh f Compare Forster, Travels, i. 
Kotla, seems to have guided the 320., and Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 
Shah. Compare Browne, Tracts, 25. 
ii. 23- ; Forster, Travels, i. 319.; and 


102 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IY. 


1763,1764. 


The Af¬ 
ghans de¬ 
feated, 

Dec. 1763. 


Sirhind 
taken and 
destroyed, 
and the 
province 
permanent¬ 
ly occupied 
by the 
Sikhs. 


The Sikhs 
aid the Jats 
of Bhui’t- 
poor in be¬ 
sieging 
Delhi, 

1764. 


Ahmed 
Shah’s 
seventh ex¬ 
pedition 
and speedy 
retirement. 


to the true or probable number of 40,000 Sikhs in the 
month of December, 1763, but he was defeated and 
slain, and the plains of Sirhind, from the Sutlej to the 
Jumna, were occupied by the victors without further 
opposition. Tradition still describes how the Sikhs 
dispersed as soon as the battle was won, and how, 
riding day and night, each horseman would throw his 
belt and scabbard, his articles of dress and accoutrement, 
until he was almost naked, into successive villages, to 
mark them as his. Sirhind itself was totally destroyed, 
and the feeling still lingers which makes it meritorious 
to carry away a brick from the place which witnessed 
the death of the mother and children of Govind Singh. 
The impulse of victory swept the Sikhs across the 
Jumna, and their presence in Seharunpoor recalled 
Nujeebooddowla from his contests with the Jats, under 
Sooruj Mull, tc protect his own principality, and he found 
it prudent to use negotiation as well as force, to induce 
the invaders to retire.* 

Nujeebooddowla was successful against the Jats, 
and Sooruj Mull was killed in fight; but the vuzeer, or 
regent, was himself besieged in Delhi, in 1764, by the 
son of the deceased chief, and the heir of Bhurtpoor was 
aided by a large body of Sikhs, as well as of Mahrattas 
more accustomed to defy the imperial power.t The 
loss of Sirhind had brought Ahmed Shah a seventh 
time across the Indus, and the danger of Nujeebood¬ 
dowla led him onwards to the neighborhood of the 
Jumna; hut the siege of Delhi being raised — partly 
through the mediation or the defection of the Mah- 
ratta chief, Holkar, and the Shah having perhaps 
rebellions to suppress in his native provinces, hastened 
back without making any effective attempt to recover 

* Compare Browne, India Tracts, f Compare Browne, Tracts, ii. 
ii. 24., and Murray’s Runjeet Singh , 24. Sikh tradition still preserves the 

p. 26, 27. Some accounts represent names of the chiefs who plundered 
the Sikhs to have also become tem- the vegetable market at Delhi on 
porarily possessed of Lahore at this this occasion, 
period. 


Chap. IV.] INDEPENDENCE OF THE SIKHS. 


103 


Sirhind. He was content with acknowledging Alha 1764. 

Singh of Putteeala as governor of the province on his v -*-' 

part, that chief having opportunely procured the town 
itself in exchange from the descendant of an old com¬ 
panion of the Gooroo’s, to whom the confederates had 
assigned it. The Sikh accounts do not allow that the 
Shah retired unmolested, but describe a long and ardu¬ 
ous contest in the vicinity of Amritsir, which ended 
without either party being able to claim a victory, 
although it precipitated the already hurried retirement 
of the Afghans. The Sikhs found little difficulty in 
ejecting Kabulee Mull, the governor of Lahore, and the The Sikhs 
whole country, from the Jehlum to the Sutlej, was par- of 

titioned among chiefs and their followers, as the plains Lahore, 
of Sirhind had been divided in the year previous. 
Numerous mosques were demolished, and Afghans in 
chains were made to wash the foundations with the 
blood of hogs. The chiefs then assembled at Amritsir, a general 
and proclaimed their own sway and the prevalence of ^ld^Am- 
their faith, by striking a coin with an inscription to the ntsir, and 
effect that Gooroo Govind had received from Nanuk established 
“Deg, Tegh, and Futteh,” or grace, power, and rapid as a ruling 

• x. * people, 

victory.* F v 

The Sikhs were not interfered with for two years, The Sikhs 
and the short interval was employed in ascertaining [°™ a or 0 fal1 
their actual possessions, and in determining their mutual liticai sys- 
relations in their unaccustomed condition of liberty and tem ’ 


* Compare Browne, India Tracts , 
ii. 25. 27. ; Forster, Travels, i. 321. 
323. ; Elphinstone, Caubul, ii. 296, 
297.; and Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 
26, 27. 

The rupees struck were called 
“ Govindshahee,” and the use of the 
emperor’s name was rejected (Browne, 
Tracts, ii. 28.), although existing 
coins show that it was afterwards 
occasionally inserted by petty chiefs. 
On most coins struck by Runjeet 
Singh, is the inscription, “ Deg, wuh 
Tegh, wuh Futteh, wuh nusrut be 
dirung yaft, uz Nanuk Gooroo Go¬ 


vind Singh,” that is, literally, “Grace, 
power, and victory, victory without 
pause, Gooroo Govind Singh ob¬ 
tained from Nanuk.” For some ob¬ 
servations on the words Deg, and 
Tegh, and Futteh, see Appendices 
IX. and XII. Browne ( Tracts, ii., 
Introd. vii.) gives no typical import 
to “ Deg,” and therefore leaves it 
meaningless ; but he is perhaps more 
prudent than Colonel Sleeman, who 
writes of “ the sword, the pot victory, 
and conquest being quickly found,” 
&c. &c. (See Rambles of an Indian 
Official, ii. 233., note.) 


104 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IV* 


1764. 

v i 

y 


which may 
be termed a 
theocratic 
confederate 
feudalism. 


Their Goo 
roomuttas, 
or diets. 


power. Every Sikh was free, and each was a sub¬ 
stantive member of the commonwealth; but their means, 
their abilities, and their opportunities were various and 
unequal, and it was soon found that all could not lead, 
and that there were even then masters as well as 
servants. Their system naturally resolved itself into a 
theocratic confederate feudalism, with all the confusion 
and uncertainty attendant upon a triple alliance of the 
kind in a society half barbarous. God was their helper 
and only judge, community of faith or object was their 
moving principle, and warlike array, the devotion to 
steel of Govind, was their material instrument. Year 
by year the “ Surbut Khalsa,” or whole Sikh people, 
met once at least at Amritsir, on the* occasion of the 
festival of the mythological Rama, when the cessation 
of the periodical rains rendered military operations 
practicable. It was perhaps hoped that the performance 
of religious duties, and the awe inspired by so holy a 
place, might cause selfishness to yield to a regard for 
the general welfare, and the assembly of chiefs was 
termed a “ Gooroomutta,” to denote that, in conformity 
with Govind’s injunction, they sought wisdom and una¬ 
nimity of counsel from their teacher and the book of 
his word. 5 * The leaders who thus piously met, owned 
no subjection to one another, and they were imperfectly 
obeyed by the majority of their followers ; but the 
obvious feudal, or military notion of a chain of depend¬ 
ence, was acknowledged as the law, and the federate 


* “ Mut ” means understanding, 
and “ Mutta ” counsel or wisdom. 
Hence Gooroomutta becomes, lite¬ 
rally, “ the advice of the Gooroo.” 

Malcolm ( Sketch, p. 52.) considers, 
and Browne ( Tracts, ii. vii.) leaves 
it to be implied, that Govind directed 
the assemblage of Gooroomutta ; but 
there is no authority for believing 
that he ordained any formal or par¬ 
ticular institution, although, doubt¬ 
less, the general scope of his in¬ 
junctions, and the peculiar political 


circumstances of the times, gave ad¬ 
ditional force to the practice of hold¬ 
ing diets or conclaves — a practice 
common to mankind everywhere, and 
systematised in India from time im¬ 
memorial. Compare Forster, Travels , 
i. 328. &c., for some observations on 
the transient Sikh government of the 
time, and on the more enduring 
characteristics of the people. See 
also Malcolm, Sketch, p. 120., for the 
ceremonial forms of a Gooroomutta. 



Chap. IV.] THE CONFEDERACIES OF THE SIKHS. 


105 


chiefs partitioned their joint conquests equally among 
themselves, and divided their respective shares in the 
same manner among their own leaders of bands, while 
these again subdivided their portions among their own 
dependents, agreeably to the general custom of subin¬ 
feudation.* This positive or understood rule was not, 
however, always applicable to actual conditions, for the 
Sikhs were in part of their possessions “ earth-born,” 
or many held lands in which the mere withdrawal of a 
central authority had left them wholly independent of 
control. In theory such men were neither the subjects 
nor the retainers of any feudal chief, and they could 
transfer their services to whom they pleased, or they 
could themselves become leaders, and acquire new lands 
for their own use in the name of the Khalsa or common* 
wealth.f It would be idle to call an everchanging state 
of alliance and dependence by the name of a constitu¬ 
tion, and we must look for the existence of the faint 
outline of a system, among the emancipated Sikhs, 
rather in the dictates of our common nature, than in 
the enactments of assemblies, or in the injunctions of 
their religious guides. It was soon apparent that the 
strong were ever ready to make themselves obeyed, and 
ever anxious to appropriate all within their power, and 
that unity of creed or of race nowhere deters men from 
preying upon one another. A full persuasion of God's 
grace was nevertheless present to the mind of a Sikh, 
and every member of that faith continues to defer to 
the mystic Khalsa; but it requires the touch of genius, 


1764. 


The system 
not devised, 
or know¬ 
ingly adopt¬ 
ed, and 
therefore 
incomplete 
and tempo¬ 
rary. 


* Compare Murray, Runjeet Singh, Runjeet Singh, p. 32. The subdivi- 
p. 33 — 37 . From tracts of country sions of property were sometimes so 
which the Sikhs subdued but did minute that two, or three, or ten 
not occupy, “ Rak’hee,” literally, pro- Sikhs might become copartners in the 
tection money, was regularly levied, rental of one village, or in the house 
The Rak’hee varied in amount from tax of one street of a town, while the 
perhaps a fifth to a half of the rental fact that jurisdiction accompanied such 
or government share of the produce, right increased the confusion. 

It corresponded with the Mahratta f [Hallam shows that the Anglo- 
“ Cliowt,” or fourth, and both terms Saxon freeholder had a similar lati- 
meant “ black mail,” or, in a higher tude of choice with regard to a lord 
sense, tribute. Compare Browne, or superior. — Middle Ages, Supple- 
Jndia Tracts*, ii. viii., and Murray’s mental Notes, p. 210 .] 



106 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IV. 


1764. 



The con¬ 
federacies 
called Misls. 


Their 
names and 
particular 
origin. 


or the operation of peculiar circumstances, to give direc¬ 
tion and complete effect to the enthusiastic belief of a 
multitude. 

The confederacies into which the Sikhs resolved 
themselves have been usually recorded as twelve in 
number, and the term used to denote such a union was 
the Arabic word “ Misl,” alike or equal.* Each Misl 
obeyed or followed a “ Sirdar,” that is, simply, a chief 
or leader ; but so general a title was as applicable to the 
head of a small band as to the commander of a large 
host of the free and equal “ Singhs ” of the system. 
The confederacies did not all exist in their full strength 
at the same time, but one “ Misl” gave birth to another; 
for the federative principle necessarily pervaded the 
union, and an aspiring chief could separate himself from 
his immediate party, to form, perhaps, a greater one of 
his own. The Misls were again distinguished by titles 
derived from the name, the village, the district, or the 
progenitor of the first or most eminent chief, or from 
some peculiarity of custom or of leadership. Thus, of 
the twelve, — 1. the Bunghees were so called from the 
real or fancied fondness of its members for the use of 
an intoxicating drug t; 2. the Nishdneeas followed the 
standard bearers of the united army; 3. the Shuheeds 
and Nihungs were headed by the descendants of honored 
martyrs and zealots ; 4. the Ramgurlieeas took their 
name from the Ram Rownee, or Fortalice of God, at 
Amritsir, enlarged into Ramgurh, or Fort of the Lord, 
by Jussa the Carpenter; 5. the Nukeias arose in a 
tract of country to the south of Lahore so called ; 
6 . the Alhoowaleeas derived their title from the village 
in which Jussa, who first proclaimed the existence of 
the army of the new theocracy, had helped his father 

* Notwithstanding this usual deri- f Bhung is a product of the hemp 
vation of the term, it may be remem- plant, and it is to the Sikhs what 
bered that the Arabic term “ Muslu- opium is to Rajpoots, and strong 
hut” (spelt with another s than that liquor to Europeans. Its qualities 
in misl), meansarmed men and warlike are abused to an extent prejudicial 
people. “ Misl,” moreover, means, to the health and understanding, 
in India, a file of papers, or indeed 
any thing serried or placed in ranks. 


Chap. IV.] THE CONFEDERACIES OF THE SIKHS. 


107 


to distil spirits; 7* the Ghuneias or Kuneias , 8. the 
Feizoolapooreeas or Singhpooreeas , 9* the Sooker- 

chukeeas , and 10., perhaps, the Dullehwalas , were simi¬ 
larly so denominated from the villages of their chiefs; 
11. the Krora Singheeas took the name of their third 
leader, but they were sometimes called Punjgurheeas, 
from the village of their first chief; and 12. the Phool- 
keeas went back to the common ancestor of Alha Singh 
and other Sirdars of his family.* 

Of the Misls, all save that of Phoolkeea arose in the 
Punjab or to the north of the Sutlej, and they were 
termed Manjha Singhs, from the name of the country 
around Lahore, and in contradistinction to the Malwa 
Singhs, so called from the general appellation of the 
districts lying between Sirhind and Sirsa. The Feizool¬ 
apooreeas, the Alhoovvaleeas, and the Ramgurheeas, 
were the first who arose to distinction in Manjha, but 
the Bunghees soon became so predominant as almost 
to be supreme ; they were succeeded to some extent in 
this preeminence by the Kuneias, an offshoot of the 
Feizoolapooreeas, until all fell before Runjeet Singh and 
the Sookerchukeeas. In Malwa the Phoolkeeas always 
admitted the superior merit of the Putteeala branch ; 
this dignity was confirmed by Ahmed Shah’s bestowal 
of a title on Alha Singh, and the real strength of the 
confederacy made it perhaps inferior to the Bunghees 
alone. The Nishaneeas and Shuheeds, scarcely formed 
Misls in the conventional meaning of the term, but 
complementary bodies set apart and honored by all for 


1764. 


1 j 

y 


The relative 
preemi¬ 
nence of the 
Misls or 
confedera¬ 
cies. 


* Captain Murray (Runjeet Sinph, 
p. 29. &c.) seems to have been the 
first who perceived and pointed out 
the Sikh system of “ Misls.” Nei¬ 
ther the organization nor the term is 
mentioned specifically by Forster, or 
Browne, or Malcolm, and at first Sir 
David Ochterloney considered and 
acted as if “misl” meant tribe or 
race, instead of party or confederacy. 
(Sir D. Ochterloney to the Govern¬ 
ment of India, SOth December, 1809.) 
[The succession to the leadership of 


the Krora Singheea confederacy may 
be mentioned as an instance of the 
uncertainty and irregularity natural 
to the system of “ Misls,” and indeed 
to all powers in process of change or 
development. The founder was suc¬ 
ceeded by his nephew, but that ne¬ 
phew left his authority to Krora Sing, 
h petty personal follower, who again 
bequeathed the command to Bughel 
Singh, his own menial servant. The 
reader will remember the parallel in¬ 
stance of Alftegheen and Sebekteg- 



108 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IV. 


1764. 


The origi¬ 
nal and 
acquired 
possessions 
of the Misls. 


particular reasons.* The Nukeias never achieved a 
high power or name, and the Dullehwalas and Krora 
Singheeas, an offshoot of the Feizoolapooras, acquired 
nearly all their possessions by the capture of Sirhind; 
and although the last obtained a great reputation, it 
never became predominant over others. 

The native possessions of the Bunghees extended 
north, from their cities of Lahore and Amritsir, to the 
Jehlum, and then down that river. The Kuneias dwelt 
between Amritsir and the hills. The Sookerchukeeas 
lived south of the Bunghees, between the Chenab and 
Ravee. The Nukeias held along the Ravee, south¬ 
west of Lahore. The Feizoolapooreeas possessed tracts 
along the right bank of the Beeas and of the Sutlej, be¬ 
low its junction. The Alhoowaleeas similarly occupied 
the left bank of the former river. The Dullehwalas 
possessed themselves of the right bank of the Upper 
Sutlej, and the Ramgurheeas lay in between these last 
two, but towards the hills. The Krora Singheeas also 
held lands in the Jalundhur Dooab. The Phoolkeeas 
were native to the country about Soonam and Bhuttinda, 
to the south of the Sutlej, and the Shuheeds and Nish- 
aneeas do not seem to have possessed any villages 
which they did not hold by conquest; and thus these 
two Misls, along with those of Manjha, who captured 
Sirhind, viz. the Bhunghees, the Alhoowaleeas, the 
Dullehwalas, the Ramgurheeas, and the Krora Singheeas, 
divided among themselves the plains lying south of the 
Sutlej and under the hills from Feerozpoor to Kurnal, 
leaving to their allies, the Phoolkeeas, the lands between 
Sirhind and Delhi, which adjoined their own possessions 
in Malwa.t 

heen, and it is curious that Mr. Ma- Misls. Other bodies, especially to 
caulay notices a similar kind of de- the westward of the Jehlum, might, 
scent among the English Admirals with equal reason, have been held 
of the 17th century, viz. from chief to represent separate confederacies, 
to cabin-boy, in the cases of Mings Captain Murray, indeed, in such 
Narborough and Shovel (History of matters of detail, merely expresses 
England, i. 306.).] the local opinions of the neighbor- 

* Perhaps Captain Murray is hood of the Sutlej, 
scarcely warranted in making the f Dr. Macgregor, in his History 
Nishaneeas and Shuheeds regular of the Sikhs (i. 28. &c.), gives an ab- 



Chap. IV.] 


THE AKALEES. 


109 


The number of horsemen which the Sikhs could 
muster have been variously estimated from seventy 
thousand to four times that amount, and the relative 
strength of each confederacy is equally a subject of 
doubt.* All that is certain is the great superiority of 
the Bunghees, and the low position of the Nukeias and 
Sookerchukeeas. The first could perhaps assemble 
20,000 men, in its widely scattered possessions, and the 
last about a tenth of that number ; and the most mode¬ 
rate estimate of the total force of the nation may like¬ 
wise be assumed to be the truest. All the Sikhs were 
horsemen, and among a half barbarous people dwelling 
on plains, or in action with undisciplined forces, cavalry 
must ever be the most formidable arm. The Sikhs 
speedily became famous for the effective use of the 
matchlock when mounted, and this skill is said to have 
descended to them from their ancestors, in whose hands 
the bow was a fatal weapon. Infantry were almost 
solely used to garrison forts, or a man followed a misl 
on foot, until plunder gave him a horse or the means of 
buying one. Cannon was not used by the early Sikhs, 
and its introduction was very gradual, for its possession 
implies wealth, or an organization both civil and mili¬ 
tary. t 

Besides the regular confederacies, with their moderate 
degree of subordination, there was a body of men who 
threw off all subjection to earthly governors, and who 
peculiarly represented the religious element of Sikhism. 
These were the “ Akalees,” the immortals, or rather 
the soldiers of God, who, with their blue dress and 

stract of some of the ordinary accounts cavalry, and in another book ( Life of 
of a few of the Misls. George Thomas, note, p. 68.), that 

* Forster, in 1783 ( Travels , i. they could not lead into action more 
333 .), said the Sikh forces were esti- than 64,000. George Thomas him- 
mated at 300,000, but might be taken self estimated their strength at 
at 200,000. Browne ( Tracts, Illus - 60,000 horse, and 5000 foot. ( Life, 

trative Map ) about the same period by Francklin, p. 274.) 
enumerates 73,000 horsemen, and f George Thomas, giving the sup- 
25,000 foot. Twenty years after- posed status of 1800 a. n., says the 
wards Colonel Francklin said, in one Sikhs had 40 pieces of field artillery, 
work (Life of Shah Alum, note, p. (Life, by Francklin, p. 274.) 

75.), that the Sikhs mustered 248,000 


1764. 


The gross 
forces of 
the Sikhs, 
and the 
relative 
strength cf 
the Misls. 


The order 
of Akalees. 



110 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IV. 


1764. 


Their origin 
and prin¬ 
ciples of 
action. 


bracelets of steel, claimed for themselves a direct institu¬ 
tion by Govind Singh. The Gooroo had called upon 
men to sacrifice every thing for their faith, to leave their 
homes and to follow the profession of arms; hut he and 
all his predecessors had likewise denounced the inert 
asceticism of the Hindoo sects, and thus the fanatical 
feeling of a Sikh took a destructive turn. The Akalees 
formed themselves in their struggle to reconcile warlike 
activity with the relinquishment of the world. The 
meek and humble were satisfied with the assiduous per¬ 
formance of menial offices in temples, hut the fierce 
enthusiasm of others prompted them to act from time to 
time as the armed guardians of Amritsir, or suddenly to 
go where blind impulse might lead them, and to win their 
daily bread, even single-handed, at the point of the 
sword.* They also took upon themselves something 
of the authority of censors, and, although no leader ap¬ 
pears to have fallen by their hands for defection to the 
Khalsa, they inspired awe as well as respect, and would 
sometimes plunder those who had offended them or had 
injured the commonwealth. The passions of the Aka¬ 
lees had full play until Runjeet Singh became supreme, 
and it cost that able and resolute chief much time and 
trouble, at once to suppress them, and to preserve his 
own reputation with the people. 


* Compare Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 
116.), who repeats, and apparently 
acquiesces, in the opinion, that the 
Akalees were instituted as an order 
by Gooroo Govind. There is not, 
however, any writing of Govind’s on 
record, which shows that he wished 
the Sikh faith to be represented by 
mere zealots, and it seems clear that 
the class of men arose as stated in the 
text. 

So strong is the feeling that a 
Sikh should work, or have an occu¬ 
pation, that one who abandons the 
world, and is not of a warlike turn, 
will still employ himself in some 


way for the benefit of the commu¬ 
nity. Thus the author once found 
an Akalee repairing, or rather mak¬ 
ing, a road, among precipitous ravines, 
from the plain of the Sutlej to the 
petty town of Keeritpoor. He 
avoided intercourse with the world 
generally. He was highly esteemed 
by the people, who left food and 
clothing at particular places for him, 
and his earnest persevering character 
had made an evident impression on 
a Hindoo shepherd boy, who had 
adopted part of the Akalee dress, and 
spoke with awe of the devotee. 


Chap. V.] 


AHMED SHAII DOORANEE. 


Ill 


CHAPTER V. 

FROM THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE SIKHS TO THE 
ASCENDANCY OF RUNJEET SINGH AND THE ALLIANCE 
WITH THE ENGLISH. 

1765 - 1808 - 9 . 


Ahmed Shah's last invasion of India. — The preeminence 
of the Bunghee Confederacy among the Sikhs. — Tymoor 
Shah's expeditions. — The Phoolkeea Sikhs in Hurree- 
ana. — Zabita Khan. — The Kuneia Confederacy para¬ 
mount among the Sikhs. — Muha Singh Sookerchukeea 
becomes conspicuous. — Shah Zuman's invasions and 
Runjeet Singh's rise. — The Mahrattas under Sindhia 
predominant in Northern India. — General Perron and 
George Thomas. — Alliances of the Mahrattas and 
Sikhs. — Intercourse of the English with the Sikhs. — 
Lord Lake's campaigns against Sindhia and Holkar. — 
First treaty of the English with the Sikhs. — Prepara¬ 
tions against a French invasion of India. — Treaty of 
alliance with Runjeet Singh, and of protection with Cis- 
Sutlej Sikh Chiefs. 


The Sikhs had mastered the upper plains from Kurnal 
and Hansee to the banks of the Jehlum. The neces¬ 
sity of union was no longer paramount, and rude un¬ 
taught men are ever prone to give the rein to their 
passions, and to prefer their own interests to the 
welfare of the community. Some dwelt on real or 
fancied injuries, and thought the time had come for 
ample vengeance; others were moved by local associa¬ 
tions to grasp at neighboring towns and districts; and 
the truer Sikh alone at once resolved to extend his 
faith, and to add to the general domain of the Khalsa, 
by complete conquest or by the imposition of tribute. 


1767. 



112 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


1767,1768. 


Ummer 
Singh of 
Putteeala, 
and the 
Rajpoot 
chief of 
Kototch, ap¬ 
pointed to 
command 
under the 
Abdalee. 
Ahmed 
Shah re¬ 
tires. 

Rhotas 
taken by 
the Sikhs, 
1768. 


The Sikhs 
ravage the 
Lower Pun¬ 
jab ; 


When thus about to arise, after their short repose, 
refreshed and variously inclined, they were again awed 
into unanimity by the final descent of Ahmed Shah. 
That monarch, whose activity and power declined with 
increase of years and the progress of disease, made yet 
another attempt to recover the Punjab, the most fertile 
of his provinces. He crossed the Indus in 17^7> hut. 
he avoided Lahore and advanced no further than the 
Sutlej. He endeavored to conciliate when he could 
no longer overcome, and he bestowed the title of 
Muharaja, and the office of military commander in Sir- 
hind, upon the warlike Ummer Singh, who had suc¬ 
ceeded his grandfather as chief of Putteeala, or of the 
Malwa Sikhs. He likewise saw a promising ally in 
the Rajpoot chief of Kototch, and he made him his 
deputy in the Jalundhur Dooab and adjoining hills. 
His measures were interrupted by the defection of his 
own troops; twelve thousand men marched hack to¬ 
wards Caubul, and the Shah found it prudent to follow 
them. He was harassed in his retreat, and he had 
scarcely crossed the Indus before Slier Shah’s mountain 
stronghold of Rhotas was blockaded by the Sookerchu- 
keeas, under the grandfather of Runjeet Singh, aided by 
a detachment of the neighboring Bunghee confederacy. 
The place fell in I 768 , and the Bunghees almost 
immediately afterwards occupied the country as far as 
Rawil Pindee and the vale of Khanpoor, the Gukkers 
showing but little of that ancient hardihood which 
distinguished them in their contests with invading 
Moghuls.* 

The Bunghees, under Hurree Singh, next marched 
towards Mooltan, hut they were met by the Mahometan 
Daoodpotras, who had migrated from Sindh on learn¬ 
ing Nadir Shah’s intention of transplanting them to 
Ghuznee, and had established the principality now 


* Forster, Travels , i. 323. ; El- Travels , i. 127., and manuscript ac- 

phinstone, Caubul , ii. 297. ; Murray’s counts consulted by the author. 
Runjeet Singh, p. 27. ; JVloorcrofl’s 


Chap. V.] 


BUNGEE MISL PREEMINENT. 


113 


known as Buhawulpoor.* The chief, Mobarik Khan, 177 °- 
after a parley with Hurree Singh, arranged that the L 
neutral town of Pakputtun, held by a Mussulman saint i nto terms 
of eminence, should be the common boundary. Hurree with Buha - 
Singh then swept towards Dera Ghazee Khan and the wuIp001% 
Indus, and while thus employed, his feudatory of 
Goojrat, who had recently taken Rawul Pindee, made 
an attempt to penetrate into Cashmeer by the ordinary Threaten 
road, but was repulsed with loss. On the Jumna, and Cashmeer » 
in the great Dooab, the old Nujeebooddowla was so and press 
hard pressed by Raee Singh Bunghee, who emulated dowiami^ 
him as a paternal governor in his neighboring town the Jumna 
and district of Jugadhree, and by Bughel Singh Krora i 77 ^ anges ’ 
Singheea, that he proposed to the Mahrattas a joint 
expedition against these new lords. His death, in 1770, 
put an end to the plan, for his succeeding son had other 
views, and encouraged the Sikhs as useful allies upon 
an emergency, t 

Hurree Singh Bunghee died, and he was succeeded Jhunda, 
by Jhunda Singh, who carried the power of the Misl fheBung- 
to its height. He rendered Jummoo tributary, and the hee Mi fi 
place was then of considerable importance, for the nent,™ 77 o. 
repeated Afghan invasions, and the continued insur- jummoo 
rections of the Sikhs, had driven the transit trade of 
the plains to the circuitous but safe route of the hills ; 
and the character of the Rajpoot chief, Runjeet Deo, was 


* When Nadir Shah proceeded to 
establish his authority in Sindh, he 
found the ancestor of the Buhawul¬ 
poor family a man of reputation in 
his native district of Shikarpoor. 
The Shah made him the deputy of 
the upper third of the province; but, 
becoming suspicious of the whole 
clan, he resolved on removing it to 
Ghuznee. The tribe then migrated 
up the Sutlej, and seized lands by 
force. The Daoodpotras are so called 
from Daood (David), the first of the 
family who acquired a name. They 
fabulously trace their origin to the 
Caliph Abbas; but they may be 


regarded as Sindhian Belotches, or 
as Belotches changed by a long resi¬ 
dence in Sindh. In establishing 
themselves on the Sutlej, they re¬ 
duced the remains of the ancient 
Lunggas and Jobyas to further in¬ 
significance ; but they introduced the 
Sindhian system of canals of irriga¬ 
tion, and both banks of the river 
below Pakputtun bear witness to their 
original industry and love of agricul¬ 
ture. 

f The memoirs of the Buhawul¬ 
poor family, and manuscript Sikh 
histories. Compare also Forster, 
Travels , i. 148. 

I 




114 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V- 


1772— 
1774. 


Kussoor 
reduced to 
submission, 


and Mool- 
tan occu¬ 
pied, 1772. 


Jhunda 
Singh assas¬ 
sinated by 
Jaee Singh 
Kuneia, 
1774. 


.Taee Singh 
Kuneia and 
Jussa Singh 
Kullal ex¬ 
pel Jussa 
the car¬ 
penter. 


Kanggra 
falls to the 
Kuneia 
Misl about 
1774. 


such as gave confidence to traders, and induced them 
to flock to his capital for protection. The Puthans of 
Kussoor were next rendered tributary, and Jhunda 
Singh then deputed his lieutenant, Mujja Singh, against 
Mooltan; but that leader was repulsed and slain by the 
united forces of the joint Afghan governors, and of 
the Buhawulpoor chief. Next year, or in 177^> these 
joint managers quarrelled, and as one of them asked 
the assistance of Jhunda Singh, that unscrupulous 
leader was enabled to possess himself of the citadel. 
On his return to the northward, he found that a rival 
claimant of the Jummoo chiefship had obtained the aid 
of Churrut Singh Sookerchukeea, and of Jaee Singh 
the rising leader of the Kuneia Misl. Churrut Singh 
was killed by the bursting of his own matchlock, and 
Jaee Singh was then so base as to procure the assas¬ 
sination of Jhunda Singh. Being satisfied with the 
removal of this powerful chief, the Kuneia left the 
Jummoo claimant to prosecute his cause alone, and 
entered into a league with the old Jussa Singh Alhoo- 
waleea, for the expulsion of the other Jussa Singh the 
Carpenter, who had rendered Ahmed Shah’s nominal 
deputy, Ghumund Chund of Kototch, and other Raj¬ 
poots of the hills, his tributaries. The Ramgurheea 
Jussa Singh was at last beaten, and he retired to the 
wastes of Hurreeana to live by plunder. At this time, 
or about 177d'> died the Mahometan governor of 
Kanggra. He had contrived to maintain himself in 
independence, or in reserved subjection to Delhi or 
Caubul, although the rising chief of Kototch had long 
desired to possess so famous a stronghold. Jaee Singh 
Kuneia was prevailed on to assist him, and the place 
fell; but the Sikh chose to keep it to himself, and the 
possession of the imperial fort aided him in his usurp¬ 
ation of Jussa Singh’s authority over the surrounding 
Rajas and Thakoors.* 


* The memoirs of the Buhawulpoor chief and manuscript Sikh ac- 


Chap. V.] 


THE PHOOLKEEAH MISL. 


115 


In the south of the Punjab, the Bunghee Sikhs con- 1779 — 
tinued predominant; they seem to have possessed the t I/93 ‘ . 
strong fort of Munkehra as well as Mooltan, and to Tymoor 
have levied exactions from Kalabagh downwards. They shah of 
made an attempt to carry Shooja-abad, a place built by co^rf 
the Afghans on losing Mooltan, but to have failed. Mooltan, 
Tymoor Shah, who succeeded his father in 1778, was 1//9 ' 
at last induced or enabled to cross the Indus, but his 
views were directed towards Sindh, Buhawulpoor, and 
the Lower Punjab, and he seems to have had no 
thought of a reconquest of Lahore. In the course of 
1777-78, two detachments of the Caubul army un¬ 
successfully endeavored to dislodge the Sikhs from 
Mooltan, but in the season of 1778-79> the Shah 
marched in person against the place. Ghunda Singh, 
the new leader of the Bunghees, was embroiled with 
other Sikh chiefs, and his lieutenant surrendered the 
citadel after a show of resistance. Tymoor Shah reigned Tymoor 
until 1798, but he was fully occupied with Sindhian, leaving the 
Cashmeeree, and Oozbek rebellions; the Sikhs were Sikhs mas - 

• • • ' tcvs of flic 

even unmolested in their possession of Rawil Pindee, upper Pun- 
and their predatory horse traversed the plains of Chutch J ab as far as 
up to the walls of Attok. # 1793 ? 

In the direction of Hurreeana and Delhi, the young The Phooi- 
Ummer Singh Phoolkeea began systematically to extend ^er Hurree". 
and consolidate his authority. He acquired Sirsa and ana, 1768 — 
Futtehabad, his territories marched with those of 1778 * 
Beekaneer and Buhawulpoor, and his feudatories of 
Jeend and Kythul possessed the open country around 
Hansee and Rohtuk. He was recalled to his capital of 

counts. Compare Murray’s Runjeet * Memoirs of the Buhawulpoor 
Singh, p. 38. &c., and Forster, Tra- chief, and other manuscript histories. 
vels, i. 283. 286. 336. Compare Browne, India Tracts, ii. 

Runjeet Deo, of Jummoo, died in 28., and Forster, Travels, i. 324. ; 

1770 a. d. Elphinstone ( Caubul, ii. 303.) makes 

Churrut Singh was killed acci- 1781, and not 1779, the date of 
dentally, and Jhunda Singh was the recovery of Mooltan from the 
assassinated, in 1774. Sikhs. 

Hurree Singh Bunghee appears 
to have been killed in battle with Um- 
mer Singh, of Putteala, about 1770. 


2 


116 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


1779— Putteeala, by a final effort of the Delhi court to re- 
1781 * establish its authority in the province of Sirhind. An 
^ nex ' army, headed by the minister of the day, and by 
dition sent Furkhoonda Bukht, one of the imperial family, marched 
against the ln ^ le season 1779-80. Kurnal was recovered; 
Maiwa some payments were promised; and the eminent Krora- 
1779-80. Singheea leader, Bughel Singh, tendered his submis¬ 
sion. Dehsoo Singh, of Kythul, was seized and 
heavily mulcted, and the army approached Putteeala. 
Ummer Singh promised fealty and tribute, and Bughel 
Singh seemed sincere in his mediation ; but suddenly 
it was learnt that a large body of Sikhs had marched 
from Lahore, and the Moghul troops retired with pre¬ 
cipitation to Paneeput, not without a suspicion that the 
Succeeds in cupidity of the minister had been gratified with Sikh 
part only, gold, and had induced him to betray his master’s 
ummer interests. Ummer Singh died in 1781, leaving a 
Putteeala minor son of imbecile mind. Two years afterwards a 
dies, 1781. famine desolated Hurreeana; the people perished or 
sought other homes; Sirsa was deserted, and a large 
tract of country passed at the time from under regular 
sway, and could not afterwards be recovered by the 
Sikhs. # 

KharTson D°° a b of the Ganges and Jumna, the Sikhs 

ofNunjeeb- rather subsidized Zabita Khan, the son of Nujebood- 
aide^in^hi. ( ^ ow ^ a ’ than became his deferential allies. That chief 
designs on had designs, perhaps, upon the titular ministry of the 
b he thf iStry em P* re > anc ^ having obtained a partial success over the 
slkhs! imperial troops, he proceeded, in 1776, towards Delhi, 
1776. with the intention of laying siege to the city. But 
when the time for action arrived, he mistrusted «his 
power; the emperor, on his part, did not care to provoke 
him too far ; a compromise was effected, and he was 
confirmed in his possession of Seharunpoor. On this 
occasion Zabita Khan was accompanied by a body of 

* Manuscript histories, and Mr. and Shah Nuwaz Khan’s Epitome 
Ross Bell’s report of 1836, on of Indian History, called Mirrit-i- 
the Bhutteeana boundary. Compare Aftdb Nooma. 

Francklin’s Shah Alum , p. 86. 90., 


Chap. V.] THE SIKHS ON THE GANGES. 


117 


Sikhs, and he was, so desirous of conciliating them, 
that he is credibly said to have adopted their dress, to 
have received the Pahul, or initiatory rite, and to have 
taken the new name of Dhurrum Singh.* 

Jussa Singh Ramgurheea, when compelled to fly to 
the Punjab by the Kuneia and Alhoowaleea con¬ 
federacies, was aided by Ummer Singh Phoolkeea in 
establishing himself in the country near Hissar, whence 
he proceeded to levy exactions up to the Avails of Delhi. 
In I 78 I a body of Phoolkeea and other Sikhs marched 
down the Dooab, but they were successfully attacked 
under the walls of Meerut by the imperial commander 
Mirza Shuffee Beg, and Gujput Singh of Jeend was 
taken prisoner. Nevertheless, in 1783, Bughel Singh 
and other commanders were strong enough to propose 
crossing the Ganges, but they w^ere deterred by the 
watchfulness of the Oude troops on the opposite bank. 
The destructive famine already alluded to, seems to have 
compelled Jussa Singh to move into the Dooab, and, in 
1785, Rohilkhund was entered by the confederates and 
plundered as far as Chundosee, which is \A r ithin forty 
miles of Bareilly. At this period Zabita Khan Avas 
almost confined to the walls of his fort of Ghowsgurh, 
and the hill raja of GurhAval, whose ancestor had re¬ 
ceived Dara as a refugee in defiance of Aurungzeb, had 
been rendered tributary, equally with all his brother 
Rajpoots, in the lower hills westward to the Chenab. 
The Sikhs were predominant from the frontiers of Oude 
to the Indus, and the traveller Forster amusingly 
describes the alarm caused to a little chief and his people 
by the appearance of two Sikh horsemen under the walls 
of their fort, and the assiduous services and respectful 
attention Avhich the like number of troopers met Avith from 
the local authorities of Gurhwal, and from the assem¬ 
bled Avayfarers at a place of public reception.! 

* Compare Forster, Travels, i. 262. 326. and note. Compare also 
325.; Browne, India Tracts, ii. 29.; Francklin’s Shah Alum, p. 93, 94., 
and Francklin’s Shah Alum, p. 72. and the Persian epitome Mirrit-i- 

t Forster, Travels, i. 228, 229. Aft ah Nooma. 


1781— 

1785. 


The ravages 
of the Sikhs 
in the 
Dooab and 
Rohilkhund 
under Bu¬ 
ghel Singh 
Krora 
Singheea, 
1781-85. 

The Sikhs 
defeated at 
Meerut, 
1783. 


1785 a. n. 


The Raj- 
poots of the 
Lower Hi¬ 
malayas 
rendered 
tributary. 


118 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Y. 


1784— In the Punjab itself Jaee Singh Kuneia continued to re- 
t 1/9 ^ 2 ' , tain a paramount influence. He had taken Muha Singh, 

jaee Singh the son °f Churrut Singh Sookerchukeea, under his pro- 
Kuneiapre- tection, and he aided the young chief in capturing Rus- 
m 4 - 85 . soolnuggur on the Chenab, from a Mahometan family. 
Rise of Mu- Muha Singh’s reputation continued to increase, and, 
Sookerchu a ^ out 1784-8.5, he so far threw off his dependence upon 
keea. Jaee Singh as to interfere in the affairs of Jummoo on 
his own account. His interference is understood to 
have ended in the plunder of the place; but the wealth 
he had obtained and the independence he had shown* 
both roused the anger of Jaee Singh, who rudely re¬ 
pelled Muha Singh’s apologies and offers of atonement, 
and the spirit of the young chief being fired, he went 
away resolved to appeal to arms. He sent to Jussa 
Singh Ramgurheea, and that leader was glad of an 
opportunity of recovering his lost possessions. He 
joined Muha Singh, and easily procured the aid of 
Sunsar Chund, the grandson of Ghumund Chund of 
The Ku- Kototch. The Kuneias were attacked and defeated; 
XT Goorbukhsh Singh, the eldest son of Jaee Singh, was 
1785-86. killed, and the spirit of the old man was effectually 
jussa the humbled by this double sorrow. Jussa Singh was re¬ 
restored, 6 stored to his territories, and Sunsar Chund obtained the 
& ra made " ^ ort Kanggra, which his father and grandfather had 
over to been so desirous of possessing. Muha Singh now be- 

chund of Came tlle m0St in ^ uent i a l ^ief in the Punjab, and he 
Kototch. gladly assented to the proposition of Sudda Kour, the 
widow of Jaee Singh’s son, that the alliance of the two 
families should be cemented by the union of her infant 
^eemi- insh dau & hter with Runjeet Singh, the only son of Muha 
nent among Singh, and who was born to him about I78O. Muha 
1765 - 92 ’ Sin £ h next proceeded to attack Goojrat, the old Bunghee 
chief of which, Goojer Singh, his father’s confederate, 
died in 1791; but he was himself taken ill during the 

slngh dies, siege ’ and ex P irei1 in the beginning of the following 
1792 . year at the early age of twenty-seven.* 

* Manuscript histories and chronicles. Compare Forster, Travels , 


Chap. V.] 


SHAII ZUMAN. 


Shah Zuman succeeded to the throne of Caubul in 1793 — 

the year 1793, and his mind seems always to have been t 1/9 / ‘_ 

filled with idle hopes of an Indian empire. In the end Shah Zu 
of 1795 he moved to Hussun Abdal, and sent forward man suc- 
a party which is said to have recovered the fort of throneof^ 
Rhotas ; but the exposed state of his western dominions Caubul, 
induced him to return to Caubul. The rumors of 1793 ‘ 
another Dooranee invasion do not seem to have been 
unheeded by the princes of Upper India, then pressed by 
the Mahrattas and the English. Gholam Mahomed, 
the defeated usurper of Rohilkhund, crossed the Punjab invited to 
in 1795-96, with the view of inducing Shah Zuman bytt^Ro^ 
to prosecute his designs, and he was followed by agents Mias and 
on the part of Asofooddowla of Oude, partly to coun- ofoude^ 
teract, perhaps, the presumed machinations of his enemy, 1795-96. 
but mainly to urge upon his majesty that all Maho¬ 
metans would gladly hail him as a deliverer. The Shah shah z u - 
reached Lahore, in the beginning of 1797> with thirty Lahore, 
thousand men, and he endeavored to conciliate the 1797. 
Sikhs and to render his visionary supremacy an agree¬ 
able burden. Several chiefs joined him, but the pro¬ 
ceedings of his brother Mehmood recalled him before 
he had time to make any progress in settling the coun¬ 
try, even had the Sikhs been disposed to submit with¬ 
out a struggle ; but the Sikhs were perhaps less dis¬ 
mayed than the beaten Mahrattas and the ill-informed 
English. The latter lamented, with the Vuzeer of 
Oude, the danger to which his dominions were exposed; 
they prudently cantoned a force at Anoopshuhur in the 
Dooab, and their apprehensions led them to depute a 
mission to Teheran, with the view of instigating the 
Shah of Persia to invade the Afghan territories. Shah 

i. 288., Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. tion to Rohilkhund took place in 
42. 48., and Moorcroft’s Travels, i. 1785, as related by Forster ( Travels, 

127. The date of 178-6, for the i. 326, note), and Jussa Singh is 
reduction of the Kuneias and the generally admitted to have been en- 
restoration of Jussa Singh, &c., is gaged in it, being then in banish- 
preferred to-1782, which is given by ment. 

Murray, partly because the expedi- 


120 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


1798,1799. 



Runjeet 
Singh rises 
to emi¬ 
nence, 


and obtains 
a cession of 
Lahore 
from the 
Afghan 
king, 1799. 


Zuman renewed his invasion in 1798 ; a body of five 
thousand men, sent far in advance, was attacked and 
dispersed on the Jehlum, but he entered Lahore with¬ 
out opposition, and renewed his measures of mixed con¬ 
ciliation and threat. He found an able leader, but doubt¬ 
ful partizan in Nizamooddeen Khan, a Puthan of Kus- 
soor, who had acquired a high local reputation, and he 
was employed to coerce such of the Sikhs, including 
the youthful Runjeet Singh, as pertinaciously kept aloof. 
They distrusted the Shah’s honor; but Nizamooddeen 
distrusted the permanence of his power, and he pru¬ 
dently forbore to proceed to extremities against neigh¬ 
bors to whom he might soon be left a prey. Some 
resultless skirmishing took place, but the designs of 
Mehmood, who had obtained the support of Persia, 
again withdrew the ill-fated king to the west, and he 
quitted Lahore in the beginning of 1799- During this 
second invasion the character of Runjeet Singh seems 
to have impressed itself, not only on other Sikh leaders, 
but on the Dooranee Shah. He coveted Lahore, which 
was associated in the minds of men with the possession 
of power, and, as the king was unable to cross his 
heavy artillery over the flooded Jehlum, he made it 
known to the aspiring chief that their transmission 
would be an acceptable service. As many pieces of 
cannon as could be readily extricated were sent after 
the Shah, and Runjeet Singh procured what he wanted, 
a royal investiture of the capital of the Punjab. Thence¬ 
forward the history of the Sikhs gradually centres in 
their great Muharaja; hut the revival of the Mahratta 
power in Upper India, and the appearance of the En¬ 
glish on the scene, require that the narrative of his 
achievements should be somewhat interrupted.* 


• Elphinstone ( Caubul, ii. 308.) the defeated Rohilla chief, and the 
states that Shah Zuman was exhorted mission of the Vuzeer of Oude, are 
to undertake his expedition of 1795, given on the authority of the Buha- 
by a refugee prince of Delhi, and wulpoor family annals, and from the 
encouraged in it by Tippoo Sooltan. same source may be added an inter- 
The journey of Gholam Mahomed, change of deputations on the part of 


Chap. V.] 


SINDHIA TAKES DELHI. 


121 


The abilities of Madhajee Sindhia restored the power 
of the Mahrattas in Northern India, and the discipline 
of his regular brigades seemed to place his administra¬ 
tion on a firm and lasting basis. He mastered Agra 
in 1785 , and was made deputy vicegerent of the em¬ 
pire by the titular emperor, Shah Alum. He entered 
at the same time into an engagement with the confede¬ 
rate Sikh chiefs, to the effect that of all their joint con¬ 
quests on either side of the Jumna, he should have two- 
thirds and the “ Khalsa” the remainder. 5 * This alli¬ 
ance was considered to clearly point at the kingdom of 
Oude, which the English were bound to defend, and 
perhaps to affect the authority of Delhi, which they 
wished to see strong ; but the schemes of the Mahratta 
were for a time interrupted by the Rohilla, Gholam 
Qadir. This chief succeeded his father Zabita Khan in 
1785 , and had contrived, by an adventurous step, to be¬ 
come the master of the emperor’s person a little more 
than a year afterwards. He was led on from one 
excess to another, till at last, in 1788, he put out the 
eyes of his unfortunate sovereign, plundered the palace 
in search of imaginary treasures, and declared an un¬ 
heeded youth to be the successor of Akber and Aurung- 
zeb. These proceedings facilitated Sindhia’s views, nor 
was his supremacy unwelcome in Delhi after the atro¬ 
cities of Gholam Qadir and the savage Afghans. His 
regular administration soon curbed the predatory Sikhs, 
and instead of being received as allies they found that 
they would merely be tolerated as dependants or as serv¬ 
ants. Raee Singh, the patriarchal chief of Jugadhree, 
was retained for the time as farmer of considerable dis¬ 
tricts in the Dooab, and, during ten years, three expedi- 



Gholam 

Qadir 

blinds Shah 
Alum, 

1788. 


Sindhia 
masters 
Delhi and 
curbs the 
Sikhs, 
1788. 


Shah Zuman and Sindhia, the en- 
voys, as in the other instance, having 
passed through Buhawulpoor town. 
A suspicion of the complicity of 
Asofooddowla, of Lucknow, does 
not seem to have occurred to the 
English historians, who rather dilate 


on the exertions made by their go¬ 
vernment to protect their pledged 
ally from the northern invaders. 
Nevertheless, the statements of the 
Bahawulpoor chronicles on the sub¬ 
ject seem in every way credible. 

* Browne, India Tracts , ii. 29. 


122 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


1787— 

1797. 


General 
Perron ap¬ 
pointed 
Sindhia’s 
deputy in 
Northern 
India, 1797. 


Sindhia’s 
and Per¬ 
ron’s views 
crossed by 
Holkar and 
George 
Thomas, 


1787—. 
1797. 


tions of exaction were directed against Putteeala and other 
states in the province of Sirhind. Putteeala was ma¬ 
naged with some degree of prudence by Nanoo Mull, the 
Hindoo Deewan of the deceased Ummer Singh, hut he 
seems to have trusted for military support to Bughel 
Singh, the leader of the Krora Singheeas, who contrived 
to maintain a large body of horse, partly as a judicious 
mediator, and partly by helping Putteeala in levying 
contributions on weaker brethren, in aid of the Moghul 
and Mahratta demands, which could neither be readily 
met nor prudently resisted. # 

General Perron succeeded his countryman DeBoigne, 
in the command of Dowlut Rao Sindhia’s largest regu¬ 
lar force, in the year 1797 > and he was soon after ap¬ 
pointed the Muharaja’s deputy in Northern India. His 
ambition surpassed his powers ; but his plans were 
nevertheless systematic, and he might have temporarily 
extended his own, or the Mahratta, authority to Lahore, 
had not Sindhia’s influence been endangered by Holkar, 
and had not Perron’s own purposes been crossed by the 
hostility and success of the adventurer George Thomas. 
This Englishman was bred to the sea, but an eccen¬ 
tricity of character, or a restless love of change, caused 
him to desert from a vessel of war at Madras in 1781 
-82, and to take military service with the petty chiefs 
of that presidency. He wandered to the north of 
India, and in 1787 he was employed by the well known 
Begum Sumroo, and soon rose high in favor with that 
lady. In six years he became dissatisfied, and entered 
the service of Apa Kunda Rao, one of Sindhia’s prin¬ 
cipal officers, and under whom De Boigne had formed 
his first regiments. While in the Mahratta employ, 
Thomas defeated a party of Sikhs at Kurnal, and he 
performed various other services; but seeing the dis¬ 
tracted state of the country, he formed the not im¬ 
practicable scheme of establishing a separate authority 
of his own. He repaired the crumbling walls of the 

* Manuscript accounts. Compare Francklin’s Shah Alum , p. 179—185. 


Chap. V.] GENERAL PERRON AND GEORGE THOMAS. 123 

once important Hansee, he assembled soldiers about 1798— 
him, cast guns, and deliberately proceeded to acquire . lb90 ‘ . 
territory. Perron was apprehensive of his power — the George 
more so, perhaps, as Thomas was encouraged by Holkar, Swishes 
and supported by Lukwa Dada and other Mahrattas, himseifat 
who entertained a great jealousy of the French com- 
mandant.* 

In 1799) Thomas invested the town of Jeend, be- and engages 
longing to Bhag Singh of the Phoolkeea confederacy, ^ith the^ 8 
The old chief, Bughel Singh Krora Singheea, and the sikhs, 
Amazonian sister of the imbecile Raja of Putteeala, 1799 ’ 
relieved the place, but they were repulsed when they 
attacked Thomas on his retreat to Hansee. In 1800 
Thomas took Futtehabad, which had been deserted 
during the famine of 1783, and subsequently occupied 
by the predatory Bhuttees of Hurreeana, then rising 
into local repute, notwithstanding the efforts of the 
Putteeala chief, who, however, affected to consider 
them as his subjects, and gave them some aid against 
Thomas. Putteeala was the next object of Thomas’s 
ambition, and he was encouraged by the temporary 
secession of the sister of the chief; but the aged Tara 
Singh of the Dullehwala confederacy, interfered, and 
Thomas had to act with caution. He obtained, never- Thomas 
theless, a partial success over Tara Singh, he received ™ r ^ e g s 
the submission of the Puthans of Malerh Kotla, and he Loodiana, 
was welcomed as a deliverer by the converted Ma- 180 °' 
hometans of Raeekot, who had held Loodiana for some 
time, and all of whom were equally jealous of the Sikhs. 

At this time Sahib Singh, a Behdee of the race of Opposed by 
Nanuk, pretended to religious inspiration, and, having Sl a n g h 
collected a large force, he invested Loodiana, took the Behdee. 
town of Malerh Kotla, and called on the English ad¬ 
venturer to obey him as the true representative of the 
Sikh prophet. But Sahib Singh could not long impose 
even on his countrymen, and he had to retire across the 


* Francklin’s Life of George Tho- Smith’s Sketch of Regular Corps in the 
mas, p. 1. 79. 107. &c., and Major Service of Indian Princes, p. 118. &c. 


m 


HISTORY OF TIIE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


1801— 

1803. 


Retires to 
Hansee, but 
afterwards 
masters 
Sufeedon, 
near Delhi. 


Thomas re¬ 
jects Per¬ 
ron’s over¬ 
tures and 
resorts to 
arms, 1801 


Surrenders 
to Perron, 
1802. 


The Mah- 
rattas under 
Perron 
paramount 
among the 
Sikhs of 
Sirhind, 
1802-3. 


Sutlej. Thomas’s situation was not greatly improved 
by the absence of the Behdee, for the combination 
against him was general, and he retired from the neigh¬ 
borhood of Loodiana towards his stronghold of Hansee. 
He again took the field, and attacked Sufeedon, an old 
town belonging to the chief of Jeend. He was repulsed, 
but the place not appearing tenable, it was evacuated, 
and he obtained possession of it. At this time he is 
said to have had ten battalions and sixty guns, and to 
have possessed a territory yielding about 450,000 
rupees, two-thirds of which he held by right of seizure, 
and one-third as a Mahratta feudatory; but he had 
rejected all Perron’s overtures with suspicion, and Per¬ 
ron was resolved to crush him. Thomas was thus 
forced to come to terms with the Sikhs, and he wished 
it to appear that he had engaged them on his side 
against Perron; but they were really desirous of getting 
rid of one who plainly designed their ruin, or at least 
their subjection, and the alacrity of Putteeala in the 
Mahratta service induced a promise, on the part of the 
French commander, of the restitution of the conquests 
of Ummer Singh in Hurreeana. After twice beating 
back Perron’s troops at points sixty miles distant, 
Thomas was compelled to surrender in the beginning 
of 1802, and he retired into the British provinces, 
where he died in the course of the same year.* 

Perron had thus far succeeded. His lieutenant, by 
name Bourquin, made a progress through the Cis- 
Sutlej states to levy contributions, and the commander 
himself dreamt of a dominion reaching to the Afghan 
hills, and of becoming as independent of Sindhia as 
that chief was of the Peshwah.t He formed an en- 

* See generally Francklin’s Life, of Putteeala wrested the vale of Pinjor, 
Thomas , and p. 21. &c. of Major with its hanging gardens, not, how- 
Smith’s Sketch of Regular Corps in ever, without the aid of Bourquin, 
Indian States. The Sikh accounts the deputy of Perron, 
attribute many exploits to the sister f Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 106.) consi- 
of the Raja of Putteeala, and among ders that Perron could easily have 
them an expedition into the hill ter- reduced the Sikhs, and mastered the 
ritory of Nahun, the state from which Punjab. 



Chap. V.] THE SIKHS AND THE ENGLISH. 


125 


gagement with Runjeet Singh for a joint expedition to 
the Indus, and for a partition of the country south of 
Lahore*; but Holkar had given a rude shock to Sind- 
hia’s power, and Perron had long evaded a compliance 
with the Muharaja’s urgent calls for troops to aid him 
where support was most essential. Sindhia became 
involved with the English, and the interested hesitation 
of Perron was punished by his supercession. He was 
not able, or he did not try, to recover his authority by 
vigorous military operations; he knew he had com¬ 
mitted himself, and he effected his escape from the 
suspicious Mahrattas to the safety and repose of the 
British territories, which were then about to be ex¬ 
tended by the victories of Delhi and Laswaree, of Assye 
and Argaum.t 

In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the agents 
of the infant company of English merchants were vex- 
atiously detained at the imperial court by the insur¬ 
rection of the Sikhs under Bunda, and the discreet 
“ factors,” who were petitioning for some trading privi¬ 
leges, perhaps witnessed the heroic death of the national 
Singhs , the soldiers of the “ Khalsa,” without compre¬ 
hending the spirit evoked by the genius of Govind, and 
without dreaming of the broad fabric of empire about 
to be reared on their own patient labors, t Forty 


1803. 


Perron 
forms an 
alliance 
with Run¬ 
jeet Singh. 


Is dis¬ 
trusted by 
Sindhia. 


Flees to 
the English 
then at war 
with the 
Mahrattas, 
1803. 


First inter¬ 
course of 
the English 
with the 
Sikhs. 

The mission 
to Ferokh- 
seer de¬ 
tained by 
the cam¬ 
paign 
against 
Bunda, 
1715-17. 


* This alliance is given on the au¬ 
thority of a representation made to 
the Resident at Delhi, agreeably to 
his letter to Sir David Ochterloney 
of 5th July, 1814. 

f Compare Major Smith’s Account 
of Regular Corps in Indian States, 
p. 31. &c. 

f See Orme, History, ii. 22. &c., 
and Mill, Wilson’s edition, iii. 34. 
&c. The mission was two years at 
Delhi, during 1715, 1716, 1717, and 
the genuine patriotism of Mr. Ham¬ 
ilton, the surgeon of the deputation, 
mainly contributed to procure the 
cession of thirty-seven villages near 
Calcutta, and the exemption from 
duty of goods protected by English 


passes. This latter privilege was a 
turning point in the history of the 
English in India, for it gave an im¬ 
pulse to trade, which vastly increased 
the importance of British subjects, if 
it added little to the profits of the 
associated merchants. 

In the Grunt’h of Gooroo Govind 
there are at least four allusions to 
Europeans, the last referring specially 
to an Englishman. 1st, in the Akal 
Stoot, Europeans are enumerated 
among the tribes inhabiting India; 
2d and 3d, in the Kulkee chapters 
of the 24 Owtdrs, apparently in 
praise of the systematic modes of Eu¬ 
ropeans; and 4th, in the Persian 
Hikayuts, where both a European 


126 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Y. 


1757— 
1788. 

Clive and 

Omichund, 

1757. 


Warren 
Hastings 
tries to 
guard Oude 
against the 
Sikhs, 

1764. 

The Sikhs 
ask English 
aid against 
the Mah- 
rattas, 

1788. 

Early En¬ 
glish esti¬ 
mates of the 
Sikhs. 

Colonel 

Francklin. 


The travel¬ 
ler Forster. 


years afterwards, the merchant Omichund played a 
conspicuous part in the revolution which was crowned 
by the battle of Plassey; but the sectarian Sikh, the 
worldly votary of Nanuk, who used religion as a garb 
of outward decorum, was outwitted by the audacious 
falsehood of Clive ; he quailed before the stern scorn of 
the English conqueror, and he perished the victim of 
his own base avarice.* In 1784 the progress of the 
genuine Sikhs attracted the notice of Hastings, and he 
seems to have thought that the presence of a British 
agent at the court of Delhi might help to deter them 
from molesting the Vizier of Oude.t But the Sikhs 
had learnt to dread others as well as to be a cause of 
fear, and shortly afterwards they asked the British Re¬ 
sident to enter into a defensive alliance against the 
Mahrattas, and to accept the services of thirty thousand 
horsemen, who had posted themselves near Delhi to 
watch the motions of Sindhia. t The English had then 
a slight knowledge of a new and distant people, and an 
estimate, two generations old, may provoke a smile from 
the protectors of Lahore. “ The Sikhs,” says Colonel 
Francklin, “ are in their persons tall, .... their aspect 
is ferocious, and their eyes piercing ; . . . . they re¬ 
semble the Arabs of the Euphrates, but they speak the 
language of the Afghans ; . . . . their collected army 
amounts to 250,000 men, a terrific force, yet from 
want of union not much to be dreaded.”§ The judicious 
and observing Forster put some confidence in similar 
statements of their vast array, but he estimated more 
surely than any other early writer, the real character of 

and an Englishman appear as cham- and Francklin’s Shah Alum , p. 115, 
pions for the hand of a royal damsel, 116. 

to be vanquished, of course, by the t Auber’s Else and Progress of the 
hero of the tale. British Power in India , ii. 26, 27. 

* That Omichund was a Sikh, is The chief who made the overtures 
given on the authority of Forster, was Dooltcha Singh of Rudowr on 
Travels, i. 337. That he died of a the Jumna, who afterwards entered 
broken heart, is doubted by Professor Sindhia’s service. Compare Franck- 
Wilson. (Mill’s, India,’hi. 192. note, lin’s Shah Alum, p. 78., note, 
edition 1840.) § Francklin’s Shah Alum, p. 75. 77, 

f Browne, India Tracts, ii. 29, 30. 78. 


Chap. V.] 


LORD LAKE’S CAMPAIGNS. 


127 


the Sikhs, and the remark of 1783, that an able chief 
would probably attain to absolute power on the ruins 
of the rude commonwealth, and become the terror of 
his neighbors, has been amply borne out by the career 
of Runjeet Singh. 5 * 

The battle of Delhi was fought on the 11th Sep¬ 
tember, 1803, and five thousand Sikhs swelled an 
army which the speedy capture of Allygurh had taken 
by surprize, t The Mahrattas were overthrown, and 
the Sikhs dispersed, but the latter soon afterwards 
tendered their allegiance to the British commander. 
Among the more important chiefs whose alliance, or 
whose occasional services were accepted, were Bhaee 
Lai Singh of Kythul, who had witnessed the success 
of Lord Lake, Bhag Singh the patriarchal chief of 
Jeend, and, ’after a time, Bhungga Singh the savage 
master of Thunehsir.t The victory of Laswaree was 
fought within two months, and the Mahratta power 
seemed to be annihilated in Northern India. The old 
blind emperor Shah Alum was again flattered with the 
semblance of kingly power, his pride was soothed by 
the demeanor of the conqueror, and, as the Moghul 
name was still imposing, the feelings of the free but 
loyal soldier were doubtless gratified by the bestowal 
of a title which declared an English nobleman to be 
“ the sword of the state” of the great Tamerlane.§ 

The enterprizing Jeswunt Rao Holkar, had by this 
time determined on the invasion of Upper India, and the 
retreat of Colonel Monson buoyed him up with hopes 


* Forster’s Travels, ii. 340. See 
also p. 324., where he says the Sikhs 
had raised in the Punjab a solid struc¬ 
ture of religion. [The remark of the 
historian Robertson may also be quo¬ 
ted as apposite, and with the greater 
reason as prominence has lately been 
given to it in the House of Commons 
on the occasion of thanking the army 
for its services during the Sikh cam¬ 
paign of 1848-49. He says that the 
enterprizing commercial spirit of the 
English, and the martial ardor of the 


Sikhs, who possess the energy natural 
to men in the earlier stages of society, 
can hardly fail to lead sooner or later 
to open hostility. — Disquisition Con¬ 
cerning Ancient India, note iv. sect. 1. 
written in 1789-90.] 

f Major Smith’s Account of Regu¬ 
lar Corps in Indian States, p. 34. 

j Manuscript Memoranda of per¬ 
sonal inquiries. 

§ Mill’s History of British India, 
Wilson’s edition, vi. 510. 


1803— 

1805. 


Sikhs op¬ 
posed to 
Lord Lake 
at Delhi, 
1803. 

The Sikhs 
of Sirhind 
tender their 
allegiance 
to the En¬ 
glish. 


The chiefs 
of Jeend 
and Kythul. 


Shah Alum 
freed from 
Mahratta 
thraldom. 


The En¬ 
glish wars 
with Hol¬ 
kar, 1804- 
5. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


128 


1805. 


The Sikhs 
mostly side 
with the 
English and 
render good 
service. 


Holkar re¬ 
tires to¬ 
wards the 
Sutlej, 
1805. 

Delays at 
Putteeala. 


Halts at 
Amritsir, 
but fails in 


of victory and dominion. Delhi was invested, and the 
Dooab was filled with troops ; but the successful defence 
of the capital by Sir David Ochterloney, and the reverse 
of Deeg, drove the great marauder back into Raj- 
pootana. During these operations a British detachment, 
under Colonel Burn, was hard pressed at Shamlee, 
near Seharunpoor, and the opportune assistance of Lai 
Singh of Kythul and Bhag Singh of Jeend ; con¬ 
tributed to its ultimate relief.* The same Sikh chiefs 
deserved and received the thanks of Lord Lake for 
attacking and killing one Eeka Rao, a Mahratta com¬ 
mander who had taken up a position between Delhi 
and Paneeput; but others were disposed to adhere to 
their sometime allies, and Sher Singh of Booreea fell 
in action with Colonel Burn, and the conduct of Goor- 
dut Singh of Ladwa induced the British general to 
deprive him of his villages in the Dooab, and of the 
town of Kurnal.t 

In 1805, Holkar and Ameer Khan again moved 
northward, and proclaimed that they would be joined 
by the Sikhs, and even by the Afghans; but the rapid 
movements of Lord Lake converted their advance into 
a retreat or a flight. They delayed some time at Put¬ 
teeala, and they did not fail to make a pecuniary profit 
out of the differences then existing between the imbe¬ 
cile Raja and his wifet ; but when the English army 
reached the neighborhood of Kurnal, Holkar continued 
his retreat towards the north, levying contributions 
where he could, but without being joined by any of the 
Sikh chiefs of the Cis-Sutlej states. In the Punjab it¬ 
self, he is represented to have induced some to adopt 


* Manuscript memoranda. Both 
this aid in 1804, and the opposition 
of the Sikhs at Delhi, in 1803, seem 
to have escaped the notice of English 
observers, or to have been thought 
undeserving of record by English 
historians. ( Mill's History, vi. 503. 
592., edition 1840.) 

f Manuscript memoranda of writ¬ 
ten documents and of personal in¬ 
quiries. 


t Ameer Khan, in his Memoirs 
(p. 276.), says characteristically, that 
Holkar remarked to him, on observ¬ 
ing the silly differences between the 
Raja and the Ranee, “ God has as¬ 
suredly sent us these two pigeons to 
pluck; do you espouse the cause of 
the one, while I take up with the 
other.” 


Chap. V.] TREATY WITH THE ENGLISH OF 1806. 


m 


his cause, but Runjeet Singh long kept aloof, and when 
at last he met Holkar at Amritsir, the astute young 
chief wanted aid in reducing the Puthans of Kussoor be¬ 
fore he would give the Mahrattas any assistance against 
the English. Ameer Khan would wish it to be believed, 
that he was unwilling to be a party to an attack upon good 
Mahometans, and it is certain that the perplexed Jeswunt 
Rao talked of hurrying on to Peshawur ; but Lord Lake 
was in force on the banks of the Beeas, the political 
demands of the British commander were moderate, and, 
on the 24th December, 1805, an arrangement was 
come to, which allowed Holkar to return quietly to 
Central India. * 

Lord Lake was joined on his advance by the two 
chiefs, Lai Singh and Bhag Singh, whose services have 
already been mentioned, and at Putteeala he was wel¬ 
comed by the weak and inoffensive Sahib Singh, who 
presented the keys of his citadel, and expatiated on his 
devotion to the British government. Bhag Singh was 
the maternal uncle of Runjeet Singh, and his services 
were not unimportant in determining that calculating 
leader to avoid an encounter with disciplined battalions 
and a trained artillery. Runjeet Singh is believed to 
have visited the British camp in disguise, that he might 
himself witness the military array of a leader who had 
successively vanquished both Sindhia and Holkart, and 
he was, moreover, too acute to see any permanent advan¬ 
tage in linking his fortunes with those of men reduced 
to the condition of fugitives. Futteh Singh Alhoo- 
waleea, the grand nephew of Jussa Singh Kullal, and 
the chosen companion of the future Muharaja, was the 
medium of intercourse, and an arrangement was soon 
entered into, with “ Sirdars” Runjeet Singh and Futteh 
Singh jointly, which provided that Holkar should be 
compelled to retire from Amritsir, and that so long as 
the two chiefs conducted themselves as friends, the 

* Compare Ameer Khan’s Memoirs , p. .275. 285., and Murray’s Runjeet 
Singh, p. 57. &c. f See Moorcroft, Travels , i. 102. 



Holkar 
comes to 
terms with 
the En¬ 
glish and 
marches to 
the south, 
1805-6. 

Friendly 
relations of 
the English 
with the 
Sikhs of 
Sirhind, 
1803-8. 


Formal en¬ 
gagement 
entered into 
with ltun- 
jeet Singh 
and Futteh 
Singh 
Alhoowa- 
leea, 1806. 


130 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Y. 


1804. English government would never form any plans for 
^^j En the seizure of their territories.* Lord Lake entered 
giish cor- into a friendly correspondence with Sunsar Chund, of 
^th sun- Kototch, who was imitating Runjeet Singh by bringing 
sar chund the petty hill chiefs under subjection ; but no engage- 
of Kototch. ment wag enterec | j nt0> an( j the British commander re¬ 
turned to the provinces by the road of Ambala and 
Kurnal.t 

The Sikhs The connection of Lord Lake with many of the Sikh 
regarded as chiefs of Sirhind had been intimate, and the services of 
virtually de- some had been opportune and valuable. Immediately 
the i^ngiisii after the battle of Delhi, Bhag Singh of Jeend, was up- 
by Lord held in a jagheer which he possessed near that city, 
and in 1804 another estate was conferred jointly on 
him and his friend Lai Singh of Kythul. In 1806, 
these leaders were further rewarded with life grants, 
yielding about 11,000/. a year, and Lord Lake was 
understood to be willing to have given them the districts 
of Hansee and Hissar on the same terms; but these 
almost desert tracts were objected to as unprofitable. 
Other petty chiefs received rewards corresponding with 
their services, and all were assured that they should 
continue to enjoy the territorial possessions which they 
held at the time of British interference, without being 
But the liable to the payment of tribute. These declarations or 
noTregu- 11 arrangements were made when the policy of Lord 
lariyde. Wellesley was suffering under condemnation; the reign 
made hind- °f the English was to be limited by the Jumna, a formal 
ingin form, treaty with Jeypoor was abrogated, the relations of the 
Indian government with Bhurtpoor were left doubtful, 
and, although nothing was made known to the Sikh 
chiefs of Sirhind, their connection with the English 
came virtually to an end, so far as regarded the reci¬ 
procal benefits of alliance, t 

* See the treaty itself, Appendix impression that Runjeet Singh could 
XXIII. never wholly forget the Raja’s origi- 

f The public records show that a nal superiority, nor the English divest 
newswriter was maintained for some themselves of a feeling that he was 
time in Kototch, and the correspond- independent of Lahore, 
ence about Sunsar Chund leaves the j The original grants to Jeend, 


Chai>. V.] 


ASCENDANCY OF RUNJEET SINGH. 


131 


It is now necessary to return to Runjeet Singh, 
whose authority had gradually become predominant 
among the Sikh people. His first object was to master 
Lahore from the incapable chiefs of the Bunghee confe¬ 
deracy who possessed it, and before Shah Zuman had 
been many months gone, effect was given to his grant 
by a dexterous mixture of force and artifice. Runjeet 
Singh made Lahore his capital, and, with the aid of the 
Kuneia (or Ghunnee) confederacy, he easily reduced 
the whole of the Bunghees to submission, although 
they were aided by Nizamooddeen Khan of Kussoor. 
In 1801-2 the Puthan had to repent his rashness ; his 
strongholds were difficult of capture, but he found it 
prudent to become a feudatory, and to send his best 
men to follow a new master. After this success Run¬ 
jeet Singh went to bathe in the holy pool of Turrun 
Tarun, and, meeting with Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea, 
he conceived a friendship for him, as has been men¬ 
tioned, and went through a formal exchange of turbans, 
symbolical of brotherhood. During 1802 the allies 
took Amritsir from the widow of the last Bunghee 
leader of note, and, of their joint spoil, it fell to the 
share of the master of the other capital of the Sikh 
country. In 1803, Sunsar Chund, of Kototch in pro¬ 
secution of his schemes of aggrandizement, made two 
attempts to occupy portions of the fertile Dooab of Ja- 
lundhur, but he was repulsed by Runjeet Singh and 
his confederate. In 1804 Sunsar Chund again quitted 
his hills, and captured Hosheearpoor and Bijwara ; but 
Runjeet Singh’s approach once more compelled him to 
retreat, and he soon afterwards became involved with 
the Goorkhas, a new people in search of an empire 
which should comprise the whole range of Himmala.* 


and Kythul, and others, and also liness by Lord Lake, Sir John Mal- 
similar papers of assurance, are care- colm, and Sir David Ochterloney. 
fully preserved by the several fami- * Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
lies; and the various English docu- p. 51. 55. 

ments show thatBhag Singh, of Jeend, Captain Murray, the political 
was always regarded with much kind- agent at Ambala,and Captain Wade, 


1799— 

1804. 

Retrospect 
with re¬ 
ference to 
Runjeet 
Singh’s rise. 
Runjeet 
Singh mas¬ 
ters Lahore, 
1799. 

Reduces the 
Bunghee 
Misl and 
the Puthans 
of Kussoor, 
1801-2. 


Allies him¬ 
self with 
Futteh 
Singh 
Alhoowa¬ 
leea. 

Runjeet 
Singh ac¬ 
quires Am¬ 
ritsir, 1802; 


and con¬ 
fines Sun¬ 
sar Chund 
to the hills, 
1803-4, 
who be¬ 
comes in¬ 
volved with 
the Goor¬ 
khas. 


132 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


1803—• 
1805. 


Shah Z li¬ 
man de¬ 
posed by- 
Shah Meh- 
mood, and 
the Doora- 
nee empire 
weakened; 

wherefore 
Runjeet 
Singh pro¬ 
ceeds to the 
south-west 
of the Pun¬ 
jab, 1805. 


Returns to 
the north on 
Holkar’s ap¬ 
proach, 
1805. 


In little more than a year after Shah Zuman quitted 
the Punjab, he was deposed and blinded by his brother 
Mehmood, who was in his turn supplanted by a third 
brother, Shah Shooja, in the year 1803. These revo¬ 
lutions hastened the fall of the exotic empire of Ahmed 
Shah, and Runjeet Singh was not slow to try his arms 
against the weakened Dooranee governors of districts 
and provinces. In 1804—5 he marched to the west¬ 
ward ; he received homage and presents from the Ma¬ 
hometans of Jhung and Saheewal, and Mozuffer Khan 
of Mooltan, successfully deprecated an attack by rich 
offerings. Runjeet Singh had felt his way and was 
satisfied; he returned to Lahore, celebrated the festival 
of the Holee in his capital, and then went to bathe in 
the Ganges at Hurdwar, or to observe personally the 
aspect of affairs to the eastward of the Punjab. To¬ 
wards the close of 1805, he made another western in¬ 
road, and added weight to the fetters already imposed 
on the proprietor of Jhung ; but the approach of Holkar 
and Ameer Khan recalled, first Futteh Singh, and after¬ 
wards himself, to the proper city of the whole Sikh 
people. The danger seemed imminent, for a famed 
leader of the dominant Mahrattas was desirous of bring¬ 
ing down an Afghan host, and the English army, exact 
in discipline, and representing a power of unknown 


the political agent at Loodiana, each 
wrote a narrative of the life of Run¬ 
jeet Singh, and that of the former 
was printed in 1834, with a few cor¬ 
rections and additions, and some 
notes, by Mr. Thoby Prinsep, secre¬ 
tary to the Indian Government. The 
author has not seen Captain Wade’s 
report, or narrative, but he believes 
that it, even in a greater degree than 
Captain Murray’s, was founded on 
personal recollections and on oral 
report, rather than on contemporary 
English documents, which reflected 
the opinions of the times, and which 
existed in sufficient abundance after 
1803 especially. The two narratives 
in question were, indeed, mainly pre¬ 
pared from accounts drawn up by 


intelligent Indians, at the requisition 
of the English functionaries, and of 
these the chronicles of Boota Shah, 
a Mahometan, and Sohun Lai, a Hin¬ 
doo, are the best known, and may be 
had for purchase. The inquiries of 
Capt. Wade, in especial, were exten¬ 
sive, and to both officers the public 
is indebted for the preservation of a 
continuous narrative of Runjeet 
Singh’s actions. 

The latter portion of the present 
chapter, and also chapters vi. and vii. 
follow very closely the author’s nar¬ 
ratives of the British connection with 
the Sikhs, drawn up for Government, 
a [ literary ] use which he trusts may be 
made, without any impropriety, of an 
unprinted paper of his own writing. 



Chap. V.] 


ASCENDANCY OF RUNJEET SINGH. 


133 


views and resources, had reached the neighborhood of 
Amritsir.* 

A formal council was held by the Sikhs ; but a por¬ 
tion only of their leaders were present. The singleness 
of purpose, the confident belief in the aid of God, which 
had animated mechanics and shepherds to resent perse¬ 
cution, and to triumph over Ahmed Shah, no longer 
possessed the minds of their descendants, born to com¬ 
parative power and affluence, and who, like rude and 
ignorant men broken loose from all law, gave the rein 
to their grosser passions. Their ambition was personal 
and their desire was for worldly enjoyment. The genuine 
spirit of Sikhism had again sought the dwelling of the 
peasant to reproduce itself in another form ; the rude 
system of mixed independence and confederacy, was un¬ 
suited to an extended dominion ; it bad served its ends 
of immediate agglomeration, and the 44 Misls ” were in 
effect dissolved. The mass of the people remained 
satisfied with their village freedom, to which taxation and 
inquisition were unknown; but the petty chiefs and their 
paid followers, to whom their faith was the mere ex¬ 
pression of a conventional custom, were anxious for pre¬ 
datory licence, and for additions to their temporal power. 
Some were willing to join the English, others were 
ready to link their fortunes with the Mahrattas, and all 
had become jealous of Runjeet Singh, who alone was 
desirous of excluding the stranger invaders, as the great 
obstacles to his own ambition of founding a military 
monarchy which should ensure to the people the con¬ 
genial occupation of conquest. In truth, Runjeet Singh 
labored, with more or less of intelligent design, to give 
unity and coherence to diverse atoms and scattered 
elements ; to mould the increasing Sikh nation into a 
well-ordered state or commonwealth, as Govind had 
developed a sect into a people, and had given application 
and purpose to the general institutions of Nanuk.t 



but the 
confederate 
system 
found de¬ 
cayed and 
lifeless, 


and a single 
temporal 
authority 
virtually 
admitted in 
the person 
of Runjeet 
Singh. 


* See Elphinstone’s Caubul, ii. 325. 
And Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 56,57. 


■f Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 106, 107.) 
remarks on the want of unanimity 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Y. 


131. 


1806. 


Runjeet 
Singh inter¬ 
feres in the 
affairs of the 
Sikhs of 
Sirhind, 
1806. 


Takes Loo- 
diana, 

1806 ; 


and receives 
offerings 
from Put- 
teeala. 


Sunsar 
Chund and 
the Goor- 
khas, 1805. 


Sunsar 
Chund and 
his confede¬ 
rate of 
Nalagurh 
driven to 
the north 
of the Sut¬ 
lej, 1805; 


Holkar retired, arid Runjeet Singh, as has been men¬ 
tioned, entered into a vague but friendly alliance with 
the British Government. Towards the close of the 
same year, he was invited to interfere in a quarrel be¬ 
tween the chief of Naba and the raja of Putteeala, and 
it would be curious to trace, whether the English 
authorities had first refused to mediate in the dispute in 
consequence of the repeated instructions to avoid all 
connection with powers beyond the Jumna. Runjeet 
Singh crossed the Sutlej, and took Loodiana from the 
declining Mahometan family which had sought the 
protection of the adventurer George Thomas. The 
place was bestowed upon his uncle, Bhag Singh of 
Jeend, and as both Jeswunt Singh of Naba, whom he 
had gone to aid, and Sahib Singh of Putteeala, whom 
he had gone to coerce, were glad to be rid of his 
destructive arbitration, he retired with the present of a 
piece of artillery and some treasure, and went towards 
the hills of Kanggra, partly that he might pay his 
superstitious devotions at the natural flames of Jowala 
Mookhee.* 

At this time the unscrupulous ambition of Sunsar 
Chund of Kototch had brought him into fatal collision 
with the Goorkhas. That able chief might have given 
life to a confederacy against the common enemies of all 
the old mountain principalities, who were already levy¬ 
ing tribute in Gurhwal: but Sunsar Chund, in his 
desire for supremacy, had reduced the chief of Kuhloor, 
or Belaspoor, to the desperate expedient of throwing 
himself on the support of the Nepal commander. 
Ummer Singh Thapa gladly advanced, and, notwith¬ 
standing the gallant resistance offered by the young 


among the Sikhs at the time of Lord 
Lake’s expedition. Compare Mur¬ 
ray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 57, 58. 

* See Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 
59, 60. The letter of Sir Charles 
Metcalfe to Government, of the 17th 
June, 1809, shows that Runjeet 
Singh was not strong enough at the 
time in question, 1806, to interfere, 


by open force, in the affairs of the 
Malwa Sikhs, and the letters of Sir 
David Ochterloney, of 14th Feb., and 
7th March, 1809, and 30th July, 
1811, show that the English engage¬ 
ments of 1805, with the Putteeala 
and other chiefs, were virtually at an 
end, so far as regarded the reciprocal 
benefits of alliance. 


Chap. V.] 


ASCENDANCY OF RUNJEET SINGH. 


135 


chief of Nalagurh, Sunsar Chund’s coadjutor in his own 1807 . 
aggressions, the Goorkha authority was introduced be- ' v J 
tween the Sutlej and Jumna before the end of 1805, 
during which year Ummer Singh crossed the former 
river and laid siege to Kanggra. At the period of and the 
Runjeet Singh’s visit to Jowala Mookhee, Sunsar ?°° r s t has 
Chund was willing to obtain his aid; hut, as the fort was Kanggra. 
strong and the sacrifices required considerable, he was 
induced to trust to his own resources, and no arrange¬ 
ment was then come to for the expulsion of the new 
enemy.* 

In 1807» Runjeet Singh first directed his attention Runjeet 
to Kussoor, which was again rebellious, and the rela- pe” s g the X pu- 
tive independence of which caused him disquietude, than chief 
although its able chief, Nizamooddeen, had been dead i 8 o 7 U ; S °° r ’ 
for some time; nor was he, perhaps, without a feeling 
that the reduction of a large colony of Puthans, and the 
annexation of the mythological rival of Lahore, would 
add to his own merit and importance. The place was 
invested by Runjeet Singh, and by Jodh Singh Ramgur- 
heea, the son of his father’s old ally, Jussathe Carpenter. 

Want of unity weakened the resistance of the then chief, 
Kootubooddeen, and at the end of a month he surren¬ 
dered at discretion, and received a tract of land on the 
opposite side of the Sutlej for his maintenance. Run¬ 
jeet Singh afterwards proceeded towards Mooltan, and and P ar - 
succeeded in capturing the walled town ; but the citadel ceeds SUC ' 
resisted such efforts as he was able to make, and he against 
was perhaps glad that the payment of a sum of money 
enabled him to retire with credit; he was, nevertheless, 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
p. 60., and Moorcroft’s Travels , i. 
127, &c. 

Sunsar Chund attributed his over¬ 
throw by the Goorkhas, to his dismis¬ 
sal of his old Rajpoot troops and 
employment of Afghans, at the insti¬ 
gation of the fugitive Rohilla chief, 
Gholam Mahomed, who had sought 
an asylum with him. 


The Goorkhas crossed the Jumna 
to aid the chief of Nahun against his 
subjects, and they crossed the Sutlej 
to aid one Rajpoot prince against 
another — paths always open to new 
and united races. References in 
public records show that the latter 
river was crossed in 1805 a. d. 


136 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


1807. 


Runjeet 
Singh em¬ 
ploys Moh- 
kum 
Chund, 
1807. 


Crosses the 
Sutlej for 
the second 
time ; 


and returns 
to seize the 
territories 
of the de¬ 
ceased Dul- 
lehwala 
chief. 


The Sikhs 
of Sirhind 
become ap¬ 
prehensive 
of Runjeet 
Singh. 


unwilling' to admit his failure, and, in the communica¬ 
tions which he then held with the Nuwab of Buhawul- 
poor, the ready improver of opportunities endeavored 
to impress that chief with the belief, that a regard for 
him alone had caused the Afghan governor to be left 
in possession of his stronghold.* 

During the same year, 1807? Runjeet Singh took 
into his employ a Kshutree, named Mohkum Chund, an 
able man, who fully justified the confidence reposed in 
him. With this new servant in his train he proceeded 
to interfere in the dissensions between the Raja of Put- 
teeala and his intriguing wife, which were as lucrative 
to the master of Lahore as they had before been to 
Holkar and Ameer Khan. The Ranee wished to force 
from the weak husband a large assignment for the 
support of her infant son, and she tempted Runjeet 
Singh, by the offer of a necklace of diamonds and a 
piece of brass ordnance, to espouse her cause. He 
crossed the Sutlej, and decreed to the boy a maintenance 
of 50,000 rupees per annum. He then attacked Nu- 
rayengurh, between Ambala and the hills, and held by 
a family of Rajpoots, but he only secured it after a re¬ 
pulse and a heavy loss. Tara Singh, the old chief of the 
Dullehwala confederacy, who was with the Lahore force 
on this occasion, died before Nurayengurh, and Runjeet 
Singh hastened back to secure his possessions in the 
Julundhur Dooab. The widow of the aged leader 
equalled the sister of the Raja of Putteeala in spirit, 
and she is described to have girded up her garments, 
and to have fought, sword in hand, on the battered 
walls of the fort of Rahoon. t 

In the beginning of 1808, various places in the 
Upper Punjab were taken from their independent Sikh 
proprietors, and brought under the direct management 

* Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 60, by Runjeet Singh from Putteeala, on 
61., and the manuscript memoirs of this occasion, was named Kurree 
the Buhawulpoor family. Khan, and was captured by the En- 

f Compare Murray’s Runjeet glish, during the campaign of 1845- 
Singh, p. 61. 63. The gun obtained 46. 


Chap. V.] BRITISH POLICY, 1808. 137 

of the new kingdom of Lahore, and Mohkum Chund 1808,1809. 
was at the same time employed in effecting a settlement 4 r 
of the territories which had been seized on the left bank 
of the Sutlej. But Runjeet Singh’s systematic aggres¬ 
sions had begun to excite fear in the minds of the Sikhs 
of Sirhind, and a formal deputation, consisting of the 
chiefs of Jeend and Kythul, and the Deewan, or minister, 
of Putteeala, proceeded to Delhi, in March 1808, to British pro- 
ask for British protection. The communications of the asked! 1 
English Government with the chiefs of the Cis-Sutlej isos; 
states had not been altogether broken off, and the 
Governor General had at this time assured the Maho¬ 
metan Khan of Koonjpoora, near Kurnal*, that he need 
be under no apprehensions with regard to his heredi¬ 
tary possessions, while the petty Sikh chief of Seekree 
had performed some services which were deemed worthy 
of a pension.! But the deputies of the collective states 
could obtain no positive assurances from the British butnotdis- 
authorities at Delhi, although they were led to hope ^dedf aC " 
that, in the hour of need, they would not be deserted. 

This was scarcely sufficient to save them from loss, and 
perhaps from ruin ; and, as Runjeet Singh had sent whereupon 
messengers to calm their apprehensions, and to urge Repair To 8 
them to join his camp, they left Delhi for the purpose Runjeet 
of making their own terms with the acknowledged Singh * 
Raja of Lahore, t 

The Governor General of 1805, who dissolved, or The under¬ 
deprecated, treaties with princes beyond the Jumna, and signs o/the 
declared that river to be the limit of British dominion, French on 
had no personal knowledge of the hopes and fears with dify ia the°" 
which the invasions of Shah Zuman agitated the minds policy of . 
of men for the period of three or four years ; and had Jowards^the 
the Sikhs of Sirhind sought protection from Lord Sikhs, isos 
Cornwallis, they would doubtless have received a de- _9 ‘ 

* In a document, dated 18th Jan- $ See Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 
uary, 1808. 64, 65. 

f Mr. Clerk of Ambala to the 
agent at Delhi, 19th May, 1837. 


138 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V. 


808,1809. 


The chiefs 
of Sirhind 
taken under 
protection, 
and a close 
alliance 
sought with 
Runjeet 
Singh. 


Mr. Met¬ 
calfe sent 
as envoy to 
Lahore, 
1808-9. 


Aversion of 
Runjeet 
Singh to a 
restrictive 
treaty, and 
his third 
expedition 
across the 
Sutlej. 


cisive answer in the negative. But the reply of en¬ 
couragement given in the beginning of 1808, was 
prompted by renewed danger; and the belief that the 
French, the Turkish, and the Persian emperors medi¬ 
tated the subjugation of India, led another new Governor 
General to seek alliances, not only beyond the Jumna, 
but beyond the Indus.* The designs or the desires of 
Napoleon appeared to render a defensive alliance with 
the Afghans and with the Sikhs imperative; Mr. El- 
phinstone was deputed to the court of Shah Shooja, 
and, in September 1808, Mr. Metcalfe was sent on a 
mission to Runjeet Singh for the purpose of bringing 
about the desired confederation. The chiefs of Put- 
teeala, Jeend, and Kythul, were also verbally assured 
that they had become dependent princes of the Bri¬ 
tish Government; for the progress of Runjeet Singh 
seemed to render the interposition of some friendly 
states, between his military domination and the peaceful 
sway of the English, a measure of prudence and fore¬ 
sight, t 

Mr. Metcalfe was received by Runjeet Singh at his 
newly conquered town of Kussoor, but the chief af¬ 
fected to consider himself as the head of the whole Sikh 
people, and to regard the possession of Lahore as giving 
him an additional claim to supremacy over Sirhind. 
He did not, perhaps, see that a French invasion would 
be ruinous to his interests, he rather feared the colossal 
power on his borders, and he resented the intention of 
confining him to the Sutlej, t He suddenly broke off 
negotiations, and made his third inroad to the south of 
the Sutlej. He seized Fureedkot and Ambala, levied 
exactions in Malerli Kotla and Thunehsir, and entered 


* Mr. Auber ( Rise and Progress 
of the British Power in India, ii. 
461), notices the triple alliance which 
threatened Hindostan. 

t Government to Sir David Och- 
terloney, 14th Nov. 1808. Compare 
Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 65, 66. 
f Moorcroflt ascertained ( Travels, 


i. 94.) that Runjeet Singh had seri¬ 
ous thoughts of appealing to the 
sword, so unpalatable was English 
interference. The well-known Fu- 
keer Uzeezooddeen was one of the 
two persons who dissuaded him from 
war. 


Chap. V.] 


BRITISH POLICY IN 1808. 


139 


into a symbolical brotherhood or alliance with the Raja iso9. 
of Putteeala. The British envoy remonstrated against ' Y * 
these virtual acts of hostility, and he remained on the 
banks of the Sutlej until Runjeet Singh recrossed that 
river.* 

The proceedings of the ruler of Lahore determined British 
the Governor General, if doubtful before, to advance a t0 
detachment of troops to the Sutlej, to support Mr. the Sutlej, 
Metcalfe in his negotiations, and to effectually confine 1809 ‘ 
Runjeet Singh to the northward of that river, t Pro¬ 
vision would also be thus made, it was said, for possible 
warlike operations of a more extensive character, and 
the British frontier would be covered by a confederacy 
of friendly chiefs, instead of threatened by a hostile 
military government. A body of troops was accord¬ 
ingly moved across the Jumna in January 1809, under 
the command of Sir David Ochterloney. The general 
advanced, by way of Booreea and Putteeala, towards 
Loodiana ; he was welcomed by all the Sirhind chiefs, 
save Jodh Singh Kulseea, the nominal head of the 
Krora-Singheea confederacy : but during his march he 
was not without apprehensions that Runjeet Singh 
might openly break with his government, and, after 
an interview with certain agents whom that chief had 
sent to him with the view of opening a double negotia¬ 
tion, he made a detour and a halt, in order to be near 
his supplies should hostilities take place, t 

Runjeet Singh was somewhat discomposed by the Theviewsof 
near presence of a British force, but he continued to become ShSh ‘ 
evade compliance with the propositions of the envoy, somewhat 
and he complained that Mr. Metcalfe was needlessly modlfied; 
reserved about his acquisitions on the south banks of the 

* Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 66. 1809. Government by no means 

f Government to Sir David Och- approved of what Sir David Ochter- 
terloney, 14th Nov. and 29th Dec., loney had done, and he, feeling ag- 
1808. grieved, virtually tendered his resig- 

| Sir David Ochterloney to Govern- nation of his command. (Sir David 
ment, 20th Jan., and 4th, 9th, and Ochterloney to Government, 19th 
14th Feb., 1809, with Government to April,1809.) 

Sir David Ochterloney, of 13th March, 


140 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Y. 


1809. 


but Runjeet 
Singh still 
required to 
keep to the 
north of the 
Sutlej. 


Runjeet 
Singh 
yields; 


Sutlej, with regard to which the Government had only 
declared that the restoration of his last conquests, and 
the absolute withdrawal of his troops to the northward 
of the river, must form the indispensable basis of further 
negotiations.* Affairs were in this way when intelli¬ 
gence from Europe induced the Governor General to 
believe that Napoleon must abandon his designs upon 
India, or at least so far suspend them as to render de¬ 
fensive precautions unnecessary, t It was therefore 
made known, that the object of the English Government 
had become limited to the security of the country south 
of the Sutlej from the incroachments of Runjeet Singh ; 
for that, independent of the possible approach of a 
European enemy, it was considered advisable on other 
grounds to afford protection to the southern Sikhs. 
Runjeet Singh must still, nevertheless, withdraw his 
troops to the right bank of the Sutlej, his last usurpa¬ 
tions must also be restored, but the restitution of his 
first conquests would not be insisted on; while, to re¬ 
move all cause of suspicion, the detachment under Sir 
David Ochterloney could fall back from Loodiana to 
Kurnal, and take up its permanent position at the latter 
place.t But the British commander represented the 
advantage of keeping the force where it was; his 
Government assented to its detention, at least for a 
time, and Loodiana thus continued uninterruptedly to 
form a station for British troops.§ 

In the beginning of February 1809, Sir David Och¬ 
terloney had issued a proclamation declaring the Cis- 


* Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 14th Feb. 1809, and Govern¬ 
ment to Sir D. Ochterloney, 30th 
July, 1809. Lieut.-Colonel Law¬ 
rence (Adventures in the Punjab , p. 
131. note (g.)) makes Sir Charles 
Metcalfe sufficiently communicative 
on this occasion with regard to other 
territories, for he is declared to have 
told the Muharaja that, by a compli¬ 
ance with the then demands of the 
English, he would ensure their neu¬ 


trality with respect to encroachments 
elsewhere. 

f Government to Sir David Och¬ 
terloney, 30th Jan. 1809. 

| Government to Sir David Och¬ 
terloney, 30th Jan., 6th Feb., and 
13th March, 1809. 

§ Sir David Ochterloney to Go¬ 
vernment, 6th May, 1809, and Go¬ 
vernment to Sir David Ochterloney, 
13th June, 1809. 


Chap. V.] 


THE TREATY OF 1809 . 


141 


Sutlej states to be under British protection, and that 
any aggressions of the Chief of Lahore would be re¬ 
sisted with arms.* Runjeet Singh then perceived that 
the British authorities were in earnest, and the fear 
struck him that the still independent leaders of the 
Punjab might likewise tender their allegiance and have 
it accepted. All chance of empire would thus be lost, 
and he prudently made up his mind without further 
delay. He withdrew his troops as required, he re¬ 
linquished his last acquisitions, and at Amritsir, on the 
25th April 1809, the now single Chief of Lahore and enters 
signed a treaty which left him the master of the tracts treaty, 
he had originally occupied to the south of the Sutlej, 25 th April, 
but confined his ambition for the future to the north 1809 ‘ 
and westward of that river.t 

The Sikh, and the few included Hindoo and Ma- The terms 
hometan chiefs, between the Sutlej and Jumna, having dependence 
been taken under British protection, it became necessary and of En- 
to define the terms on which they were secured from j^ pre " 
foreign danger. Sir David Ochterloney observed t, that sirhind. 
when the chiefs first sought protection, their jealousy of 
the English would have yielded to their fears of Run¬ 
jeet Singh, and they would have agreed to any con¬ 
ditions proposed, including a regular tribute. But their 
first overtures had been rejected, and the mission to 
Lahore had taught them to regard their defence as a 
secondary object, and to think that English apprehen- sir David 
sions of remote foreigners had saved them from the Ochterloney 

o snows tlicit 

arbiter of the Punjab.. Protection, indeed, had become the English 
no longer a matter of choice; they must have accepted regarded 
it, or they would have been treated as enemies.§ Where- alone in 

offering pro- 

* See Appendix, No. XXIV. glish, in part at least, to selfishness, tection. 

•f See the treaty itself, Appendix, but with him the motive was the 
No. XXV. Compare Murray’s Run- petty desire of benefiting by escheats, 
jeet Singh, p. 67, 68. which the dissipated character of the 

$ Sir David Ochterloney to Go- chiefs was likely to render speedy and 
vernment, 17 th March, 1809. numerous! This appetite for morsels 

§ See also Government to Resident of territory, however, really arose at 
at Delhi, 26th Dec. 1808. Baron a subsequent date, and did not move 
Hugel ( Travels, p. 279.) likewise at- the English in 1809. 
tributes the interference of the En- 



142 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Y. 


fore, continued Sir David, the chiefs expected that the 
protection would be gratuitous. The Government, on 
its part, was inclined to be liberal to its new dependents, 
and finally a proclamation was issued on the 3d May, 
1809? guaranteeing the chiefs of “ Sirhind and Malwa” 
against the power of Runjeet Singh, leaving them 
absolute in their own territories, exempting them from 
tribute, but requiring assistance in time of war, and 
making some minor provisions which need not be 
recapitulated.* 

No sooner were the chiefs relieved of their fears of 
protected 116 Runjeet Singh, than the more turbulent began to prey 
chiefs upon one another, or upon their weaker neighbors ; 
themselves. and, although the Governor General had not wished 
them to consider themselves as in absolute subjection to 
the British power t, Mr. Metcalfe pointed outt that it 
was necessary to declare the chiefs to be protected 
singly against one another, as well as collectively 
against Runjeet Singh; for, if such a degree of security 
were not guaranteed, the oppressed would necessarily 
have recourse to the only other person who could use 
coercion with effect, viz. to the Raja of Lahore. The 
justness of these views was admitted, and, on the 22d 
August, 1811, a second proclamation was issued, warn¬ 
ing the chiefs against attempts at usurpation, and 
reassuring them of independence and of protection 
against Runjeet Singh. § Nevertheless, encroachments 
did not at once cease, and the Jodh Singh Kulseea, 
who avoided giving in his adhesion to the British Go¬ 
vernment on the advance of Sir David Ochterloney, 
required to have troops sent against him in 1818, to 
compel the surrender of tracts which he had forcibly 
seized.|| 

* Appendix, No. XXVI. || Resident at Delhi to Agent at 

f Government to Sir David Och- Ambala, 27th' Oct. 1818, mulcting 
teiloney, 10th April, 1809. the chief in the military expenses in- 

t Mr. Metcalfe to Government, curred, 65,000 rupees. The head of 
17th June, 1809. the family, Jodh Singh, had recently 

§ See the proclamation, Appendix, returned with Runjeet Singh’s army 
No. XXVII. from the capture of Mooltan, and he 


1809— 

1818. 


The rela- 


Chap. V.] 


THE PROTECTED SIKHS. 


143 


The history of the southern or Malwa Sikhs need 1809 — 
not be continued, although it presents many points of . . 

interest to the general reader, as well as to the student 
and to those concerned in the administration of India. 

The British functionaries soon became involved in intri- perplexities 
cate questions about interference between equal chiefs, of British 
and between chiefs and their confederates or dependents ; regarding 3 
they labored to reconcile the Hindoo laws of inheri- the ri ghts 
tance with the varied customs of different races, and macy^and 
with the alleged family usages of peasants suddenly be- the °P era - 
come princes, lhey had to decide on questions 01 es- ternationai 
cheat, and being strongly impressed with the superiority la ws. 
of British municipal rule, and with the undoubted claim 
of the paramount to some benefit in return for the protec¬ 
tion it afforded, they strove to prove that collateral heirs 
had a limited right only, and that exemption from tribute 
necessarily implied an enlarged liability to confiscation. 

They had to define the common boundary of the Sikh 
states and of British rule, and they were prone to show, 
after the manner of Bunjeet Singh, that the present 
possession of a principal town gave a right to all the 
villages which had ever been attached to it as the seat 
of a local authority, and that all waste lands belonged 
to the supreme power, although the dependent might 
have last possessed them in sovereignty and interme¬ 
diately brought them under the plough. They had to 
exercise a paramount municipal control, and in the sur¬ 
render of criminals, and in the demand for compensa¬ 
tion for property stolen from British subjects, the origi¬ 
nal arbitrary nature of the decisions enforced, has not 
yet been entirely replaced by rules of reciprocity. But 
the government of a large empire will always be open 
to obloquy, and liable to misconception, from the acts of 


was always treated with consideration claimed to be the head of the “ Krora 
by the Muharaja; and, bearing in Singheea ” Misl, and to be the 
mind the different views taken by heir of all childless feudatories. The 
dependent Sikhs and governing En- British Government, however, made 
glish, of rights of succession, he had itself the valid or efficient head of the 
fhir grounds of dissatisfaction. He confederacy. 


144 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. V, 


1809— 

1818. 


Sir David 
Ochterlo- 
ney’s frank 
admission 
of the false 
basis of his 
original 
policy. 


officious and ill-judging servants, who think that they 
best serve the complicated interests of their own rulers 
by lessening the material power of others, and that any 
advantage they may seem to have gained for the state 
they obey, will surely promote their own objects. Nor, 
in such matters, are servants alone to blame ; and the 
whole system of internal government in India requires 
to be remodelled, and made the subject of a legislation 
at once wise, considerate, and comprehensive. In the 
Sikh states ignorance has been the main cause of mis¬ 
takes and heart burnings, and in 1818 Sir David Och- 
terloney frankly owned to the Marquis of Hastings*, 
that his proclamation of 1809 had been based on an 
erroneous idea. He thought that a few great chiefs 
only existed between the Sutlej and Jumna, and that 
on them would devolve the maintenance of order ; 
whereas he found that the dissolution of the “ Mi sis,” 
faulty as was their formation, had almost thrown the 
Sikhs back upon the individual independence of the 
times of Ahmed Shah. Both in considering the rela¬ 
tion of the chiefs to one another, and their relation col¬ 
lectively to the British Government, too little regard 
was perhaps had to the peculiar circumstances of the 
Sikh people. They were in a state of progression 
among races as barbarous as themselves, when sud¬ 
denly the colossal power of England arrested them, and 
required the exercise of political moderation and the 
practice of a just morality from men ignorant alike of 
despotic control and of regulated freedom.f 

* In a private communication, influence, added to the general repu- 
dated 17th May, 1818. tation of their countrymen, and they 

f In the Sikh states on either side gave adaptation and flexibility to the 
of the Sutlej, the British Government rigid unsympathising nature of a 
was long fortunate in being repre- foreign and civilized supremacy. Sir 
sented by such men as Capt. Murray David Ochterloney will long live in 
and Mr. Clerk, Sir David Ochter- the memory of the people of North- 
loney and Lieut.-Colonel Wade — so ern India as one of the greatest of the 
different from one another, and yet conquering English chiefs; and he was 
so useful to one common purpose of among the very last of the British 
good for the English power. These leaders who endeared himself, both to 
men, by their personal character or the army which followed him and to 



Chap. V.] ALLIANCE WITH THE ENGLISH. 


145 


the princes who bowed before the 
colossal power of his race. 

Nevertheless, the best of subordi¬ 
nate authorities, immersed in details 
and occupied with local affairs, are 
liable to be biassed by views which 
promise immediate and special ad¬ 
vantage. They can seldom be more 
than upright or dexterous adminis¬ 
trators, and they can still more rarely 
be men whose minds have been en¬ 
larged by study and reflection as well 
as by actual experience of the world. 
Thus the ablest but too often resem¬ 
ble merely the practical man of the 
moment; while the supreme au¬ 
thority, especially when absent from 
his councillors and intent upon some 
great undertaking, is of necessity de¬ 


pendent mainly upon the local repre¬ 
sentatives of the Government, whose 
notions must inevitably be partial or i 
one-sided, for good, indeed, as well as 
for evil. The author has thus, even 
during his short service, seen many 
reasons to be thankful that there is 
a remote deliberative or corrective 
body, which can survey things 
through an atmosphere cleared of 
mists, and which can judge of mea¬ 
sures with reference both to the uni¬ 
versal principles of justice and states¬ 
manship, and to their particular 
bearing on the English supremacy in. 
India, which should be characterized 
by certainty and consistency of ope¬ 
ration, and tempered by a spirit of 
forbearance and adaptation. 


L 



1809— 

1818. 



14<(j 


HISTORY OF TIIE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


CHAPTER VI. 

FROM THE SUPREMACY OF RUNJEET SINGH TO THE RE¬ 
DUCTION OF MOOLTAN, CASHMEER, AND PESHAWUR. 

1809 — 1823-24. 

Mutual distrust of Runjeet Singli and the English gra¬ 
dually removed. — Runjeet Singh and the Goorkhas. — 
Runjeet Singh and the Ex-kings of Caubul. — Runjeet 
Singh and Futteh Khan , the Caubul Vuzeer. — Runjeet 
Singh and Shah Shooja each fail against Cashmeer. — 
Futteh Khan put to death. — Runjeet Singh captures 
Mooltan, overruns Peshawur, occupies Cashmeer, and 
annexes the (( Derajat” of the Indus to his dominions. — 
The Afghans defeated, and Peshawur brought regularly 
under tribute. — Death of Mahomed Azeem Khan of 
Caubul, and of Sunsar Chund of Kototch. — Runjeet 
Singh’s power consolidated. — Shah Shooja’s expedition 
of 1818-21. —Appa Sahib of Nagpoor. — The tra¬ 
veller Moorcroft. — Runjeet Singh’s Government. — The 
Sikh Army. — The Sikhs and other military tribes. — 
French officers. — Runjeet Singh’s family . — Runjeet 
Singh’s failings and Sikh vices. — Runjeet Singh’s per¬ 
sonal favorites and trusted servants. 

1809. A treaty of peace and friendship was thus formed 
The En- between Runjeet Singh and the English Government; 
giish suspi- b u t confidence is a plant of slow growth, and doubt and 
Runjeet suspicion are not always removed by formal protesta- 
wRh^tan?" t ^ ons> While arrangements were pending with the 
ing their Muharaja, the British authorities were assured that he 
joint treaty; bad made propositions to Sindhia* ; agents from Gwa¬ 
lior, from Holkar, and from Ameer Khant, continued to 

* Resident at Delhi to Sir David ment, 15th Oct., 1809 ; 5th, 6th, and 
Ochterloney, 28th June, 1809. 7th Dec. 1809; and 5th and 30th 

t Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern> Jan., and 22nd Aug. 1810. 


Chap. VL] DISTRUST OF RUNJEET SINGH. 


147 


show themselves for years at Lahore, and their masters 1809- 
long dwelt on the hope that the tribes of the Punjab , 18H ' . 
and of the Deccan, might yet be united against the 
stranger conquerors. It was further believed by the 
English rulers, that Runjeet Singh was anxiously try¬ 
ing to induce the Sikhs of Sir hind to throw off their 
allegiance, and to join him and Holkar against their 
protectors.* Other special instances might also be 
quoted, and Sir David Ochterloney even thought it 
prudent to lay in supplies and to throw up defensive 
lines at Loodiana.t Runjeet Singh had likewise his and Runjeet 
suspicions, but they were necessarily expressed in ambi- 
guous terms, and were rather to be deduced from his doubtful on 
acts and correspondence, and from a consideration 0 f hls P art; 
his position, than to be looked for in overt statements 
or remonstrances. By degrees the apprehensions of but distrust 
the two governments mutually vanished, and, while gradually 
Runjeet Singh felt he could freely exercise his ambi- either side, 
tion beyond the Sutlej, the English were persuaded he 
would not embroil himself with its restless allies in the 
south, so long as he had occupation elsewhere. In 1811 
presents were exchanged between the Governor Gene¬ 
ral and the Muharajat, and during the following year 
Sir David Ochterloney became his guest at the marriage 
of his son, Khurruk Singh §, and from that period until 
within a year of the late war, the rumors of a Sikh 
invasion served to amuse the idle and to alarm the cre¬ 
dulous, without causing uneasiness to the British vice- 
roy. 

On the departure of Mr. Metcalfe, the first care of Runjeet 
Runjeet Singh was to strengthen both his frontier post ^fhac- 
of Filor opposite Loodiana, and Govindgurh the citadel Kanggra, 


* Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 5th Jan. 1810. 

f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 31st Dec. 1809, and 7th Sept. 
1810. 

| A carriage was at this time sent 
to Lahore. See, further, Resident 


of Delhi to Sir D. Ochterloney, 
25th Feb. 1811, and Sir D. Ochter¬ 
loney to Government, 15th Nov. 
1811. 

§ Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 18th July, 1811, and 23d 
January, 1812. 


148 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. YI. 


1809. of Arnritsir, which he had begun to build as soon as he 
and confines g ot possession of the religious capital of his people.* 
the Goor- He was invited, almost at the same time, by Sunsar 
left of the^ Ghund of Kototch, to aid in resisting the Goorkhas, 
Sutlej, who were still pressing their long continued siege of 
Kanggra, and who had effectually dispelled the Rajpoot 
prince’s dreams of a supremacy reaching from the 
Jumna to the Jelilum. The stronghold was offered 
to the Sikh ruler as the price of his assistance, but 
Sunsar Chund hoped, in the meantime, to gain ad¬ 
mittance himself, by showing to the Goorkhas the 
futility of resisting Runjeet Singh, and by promising to 
surrender the fort to the Nepal commander, if allowed 
to withdraw his family. The Muharaja saw through 
the schemes of Sunsar Chund, and he made the son of 
his ally a prisoner, while he dexterously cajoled the Kath- 
mandoo general, Ummer Singh Thapa, who proposed 
a joint warfare against the Rajpoot mountaineers, and 
to take, or receive, in the meantime, the fort of Kanggra 
as part of the Goorkha share of the general spoil. The 
Sikhs got possession of the place by suddenly demanding 
admittance as the expected relief. Sunsar Chund was 
foiled, and Ummer Singh retreated across the Sutlej, 
loudly exclaiming that he had been grossly duped, + 
khas urge" The act i ve Nepalese commander soon put down some 
the English disorders which had arisen in his rear, but the disgrace 
joinfcon- his Allure before Kanggra rankled in his mind, and 
quest of the he made preparations for another expedition against it. 
^g^ ab ’ He proposed to Sir David Ochterloney a joint march 
to the Indus, and a separate appropriation of the plains 
and the hills t; and Runjeet Singh, ignorant alike of 
English moderation and of international law, became 

* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, of the Punjab altogether. (Capt. 
p. 76. Wade to Government, 25th May, 

f Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 76, 1831.) 

77. The Muharaja told Captain { Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- 
Wade ( that the Goorkhas wanted to ment, 16th and 30th December, 
share Cashmeer with him, but that 1809. 
he thought it best to keep them out 


Chai>.VI.] RUNJEET SINGH AND THE GOORKHAS. 


149 


apprehensive lest the allies of Nepal should be glad of 
a pretext for coercing one who had so unwillingly ac¬ 
ceded to their limitation of his ambition. He made 
known that he was desirous of meeting Ummer Singh 
Thapa on his own ground; and the reply of the Governor 
General that he might not only himself cross the Sutlej 
to chastise the invading Goorkhas in the hills, but that, 
if they descended into the plains of Sirhind, he would 
receive English assistance, gave him another proof that 
the river of the treaty was really to be an impassable 
barrier. He had got the assurance he wanted, and he 
talked no more of carrying his horsemen into mountain 
recesses.* But Ummer Singh long brooded over his 
reverse, and tried in various ways to induce the British 
authorities to join him in assailing the Punjab. The 
treaty with Nepal, he would say, made all strangers the 
mutual friends or enemies of the two governments, and 
Runjeet Singh had wantonly attacked the Goorkha 
possessions in Kototch. Besides, he would argue, to 
advance is the safest policy, and what could have 
brought the English to the Sutlej but the intention of 
going beyond it ? t The Nepal war of 1814 followed, 
and the English became the neighbors of the Sikhs in 
the hills as well as in the plains, and the Goorkhas, in¬ 
stead of grasping Cashmeer, trembled for their homes in 
Kathmandoo. Runjeet Singh was not then asked to 
give his assistance, but Sunsar Chund was directly 
called upon by the English representative to attack the 
Goorkhas and their allies, — a hasty requisition, which 
produced a remonstrance from the Muharaja, and an 
admission, on the part of Sir David Ochterloney, that 
his supremacy was not questioned; while the expe¬ 
rienced Hindoo chief had forborne to commit himself 
with either state, by promising much and doing little, t 

* Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 12th September, 1811, and ment, 20th December, 1813. 
Government to Sir D. Ochterloney, $ Government to Sir David Och- 
4th October, and 22d November, terloney, 1st and 20th October, 1814. 
1811. Resident at Delhi to Sir D. Och- 


1811 — 
1815. 


But Runjeet 
Singh told 
he may 
cross the 
Sutlej to 
resist the 
Nepal 
leader, 

1811. 


Ummer 
Singh 
Thapa 
again 
presses an 
alliance 
against the 
Sikhs,1813. 


War be¬ 
tween the 
English and 
Goorkhas, 
1814-15. 


Sunsar 
Chund of 
Kototch, 
Runjeet 
Singh and 
the English. 


150 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chaf. VI. 


1809,1810. 


Shah Shooja 
expelled 
from Af¬ 
ghanistan, 
1809-10. 


Runjeet 
Singh’s sus¬ 
picions and 
plans. 


The Muha- 
raja meets 
the Shah, 
but no ar¬ 
rangement 
come to, 
1810. 


Runjeet Singh felt secure on the Upper Sutlej, but 
a new danger assailed him in the beginning of 1810 , 
and again set him to work to dive to the bottom of 
British counsels. Mr. Elphinstone had scarcely con¬ 
cluded a treaty with Shah Shooja against the Persians 
and French, before that prince was driven out of his 
kingdom by the brother whom he had himself sup¬ 
planted, and who had placed his affairs in the hands 
of the able minister, Futteh Khan. The Muharaja was 
at Vuzeerabad, sequestering that place from the family 
of a deceased Sikh chief, when he heard of Shah 
Shooja’s progress to the eastward with vague hopes of 
procuring assistance from one friendly power or another. 
Runjeet Singh remembered the use he had himself made 
of Shah Zuman’s grant of Lahore, he feared the whole 
Punjab might similarly be surrendered to the English 
in return for a few battalions, and he desired to keep a 
representative of imperial power within his own grasp.* 
He amused the ex-king with the offer of co-operation 
in the recovery of Mooltan and Cashmeer, and he said 
he would himself proceed to meet the Shah to save him 
further journeying towards Hindostan.t They saw one 
another at Saheewal, but no determinate arrangement 
was come to, for some prospects of success dawned 
upon the Shah, and he felt reason to distrust Runjeet 


terloney, 11th October, 1814, and 
Sir David’s letter to Runjeet Singh, 
dated 29th November, 1814. 

During the war of 1814 Sir David 
Ochterloney sometimes almost de¬ 
spaired of success; and, amid his 
vexations, he once at least recorded 
his opinion that the Sepoys of the 
Indian army were unequal to such 
mountain warfare as was being 
waged. (Sir D. Ochterloney to Go¬ 
vernment, 22d December, 1814.) The 
most active and useful ally of the 
English during the war, was Raja 
Ramsurrun of Hindoor (or Nala- 
gurh), the descendant of the Hurree 
Chund slain by Gooroo Govind, and 


who was himself the ready coadjutor 
of Sunsar Chund in many aggressions 
upon others, as well as in resistance 
to the Goorkhas. The venerable 
chief was still alive in 1846, and he 
continued to talk with admiration 
of Sir David Ochterloney and his 
“eighteen pounders,” and to expa¬ 
tiate upon the aid he himself rendered 
in dragging them up the steeps of the 
Himalayas. 

* Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 1 0th and 30th December, 
1809. 

f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 7th, 10th, 17th, and 30th 
Dec., 1809, and 30th Jan. 1810. 



Chap. VI.] 


ATTEMPT ON MOOLTAN. 


151 


Singh’s sincerity.* The conferences were broken off; 
but the Muharaja hastened, while there was yet an ap¬ 
pearance of union, to demand the surrender of Mooltan 
for himself in the name of the king. The great gun 
called “ Zem Zem,” or the “ Bunghee Tope,” was 
brought from Lahore to batter the walls of the citadel; 
but all his efforts were in vain, and he retired, foiled, in 
the month of April, with no more than 180,000 rupees 
to sooth his mortified vanity. The governor, Mozuifer 
Khan, was by this time in correspondence with the 
British viceroy in Calcutta, and Runjeet Singh feared 
that a tender of allegiance might not only be made but 
accepted, t He therefore proposed to Sir David Och- 
terloney that the two “ allied powers” should march 
against Mooltan and divide the conquest equally, t It 
was surmised that he wanted the siege train of the 
English, but he may likewise have wished to know 
whether the Sutlej was to be as good a boundary in the 
south as in the north. He was told reprovingly that 
the English committed aggressions upon no one, hut 
otherwise the tenor of the correspondence was such as 
to lead him to believe that he would not be interfered 
with in his designs upon Mooltan. § 

Shah Shooja proceeded towards Attok after his inter¬ 
view with Runjeet Singh, and having procured some 
aid from the rebellious brother of the governor of Cash- 
meer, he crossed the Indus, and, in March 1810, made 
himself master of Peshawur. He retained possession 
of the place for about six months, when he was com¬ 
pelled to retreat southward by the Vuzeer’s brother, 

* Shah Shooja’s Autobiography , Murray’s authority. (Life of Runjeet 
chap, xxii., published in the Cal- Singh, p. 81.) 

cutta Monthly Journal for 1839. J Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- 
The original was undoubtedly re- ment, 23rd July, and 13th Aug. 
vised, if not really written, by the 1810. 

Shah. § Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- 

f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- ment, 29th March and 17th Sept., 
ment, 29th March, and 23d May, 1810, and Government to Sir D. 
1810. In the latter it is stated that Ochterloney, 25th Sept., 1840. Corn- 
250,000 rupees were paid, and the pare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 80, 
sum of 180,000 is given on Capt. 81. 


1810— 

1812. 


Runjeet 
Singh at¬ 
tempts 
Mooltan, 
but fails, 
Feb., April, 
1810 ; 


and pro¬ 
poses to the 
English a 
joint expe¬ 
dition 
against it. 


Shah 
Shooja’s 
Peshawur 
and Mool¬ 
tan cam¬ 
paign, and 
subsequent 
imprison¬ 
ment in 
Cashmeer, 
1810-12. 


152 


HISTOKY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1811 , 1812 . Mahomed Azeem Khan. He made an attempt to gain 
v * ' over the governor of Mooltan, but he was refused ad¬ 

mittance within its walls, and was barely treated with 
courtesy, even when he encamped a few miles distant. 
He again moved northward, and, as the enemies of 
Mehmood were numerous, he succeeded in mastering 
Peshawur a second time, after two actions, one a re¬ 
verse and the other victory. But those who had aided 
him became suspicious that he was in secret league 
with Futteh Khan the Vuzeer, or, like Runjeet Singh, 
they wished to possess his person ; and, in the course of 
1812, he was seized in Peshawur by Jehan Dad Khan, 
governor of Attok, and removed, first, to that fort, and 
afterwards to Cashmeer, where he remained as a pri¬ 
soner for more than twelve months.* 

After the failure before Mooltan, Runjeet Singh and 
his minister, Mohkum Chund, were employed in bring¬ 
ing more fully under subjection various Sikh and Ma¬ 
hometan chiefs in the plains, and also the hill rajas of 
Bhimbur, Rajaoree, and other places. In the month of 
February, 1811, the Muharaja had reached the salt 
mines between the Jehlum and Indus, and hearing that 
Shah Mehmood had crossed the latter river, he moved 
in force to Rawil Pindee, and sent to ascertain his in¬ 
tentions. The Shah had already deputed agents to 
state that his object was to punish or overawe the 
governor of Cashmeer, who had sided with his brother, 
Shah Shooja, then in the neighbourhood of Mooltan ; 
Runjeet and the two princes being satisfied, they had a meeting 
Shat^Meh- 8 cerem0Ii y before the Muharaja returned to Lahore, to 
mood, i8ii. renew his confiscation of lands held by the many petty 
chiefs who had achieved independence or sovereignty 

* Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- before Mooltan in 1810-11, is 
ment, 10th Jan. and 26th Feb. 1810, given mainly on Captain Murray’s 
and 27th April, 1812. Shah Shooja’s authority, and the attempt is not 
Autobiography , chap, xxiii — xxv. mentioned in the Shah’s memoirs, 
in the Calcutta Monthly Journal for although it is admitted that he went 
1839, and Murray’s Runjeet Singh , into the Derajat of the Indus, i. e % 
p. 79. 87. 92. to Dera Ismaeel Khan, &c. 

Shah Shooja’s second appearance 


Chap. VI.] 


THE EX-KINGS OF CAUBUL. 


1 53 


while the country was without a general controlling 
power, but who now fell unresistingly before the sys¬ 
tematic activity of the young Muharaja.* 

In the year 1811 , the blind Shah Zuman crossed the 
Punjab, and was visited by Runjeet Singh. He took 
up his residence in Lahore for a time, and deputed his 
son Eunus to Loodiana, where he was received with 
attention by Sir David Ochterloney; but as the prince 
perceived that he was not a welcome guest, his father 
quitted Runjeet Singh’s city, and became a wanderer for 
a time in Central Asia.t In the following year the 
families of the two ex-kings took up their abode at 
Lahore, and as the Muharaja was preparing to bring 
the hill chiefs south of Cashmeer under his power, 
with a view to the reduction of the valley itself, and as 
he always endeavored to make success more complete 
or more easy by appearing to labor in the cause of 
others, he professed to the wife of Shah Shooja that he 
would release her husband and replace Cashmeer under 
the Shah’s sway ; but he hoped the gratitude of the 
distressed lady would make the great diamond, Koh-i- 
noor, the reward of his chivalrous labors when they 
should be crowned with success. His principal object 
was doubtless the possession of the Shah’s person, and 
when, after his preliminary successes against the hill 
chiefs, including the capture of Jummoo by his newly 
married son, Khurruk Singh, he heard, towards the 
end of 1812 , that Futteh Khan the Caubul Vuzeer 


1811,1812. 


The blind 
Shah Zu¬ 
man repairs 
for a time to 
Lahore, 
1811. 


The family 
of Shah 
Shooja re¬ 
pairs to 
Lahore, 
1812. 


Runjeet 
Singh uses 
the Shah’s 
name for 
purposes of 
his own. 


* Murray’s Runjeet Singh , p. 83, 
&c. The principal of the chiefs 
whose territories were usurped, was 
Boodh Singh, of the Singhpooreea 
or Feizoolapoorea Misl. See also 
Sir D. Ochterloney to Government, 
15th Oct., 1811. 

j- Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 87. 
The visit of the prince was considered 
very embarrassing with reference to 
Runjeet Singh; for Shah Shooja 
might follow, and he was one who 
claimed British aid under the treaty 


of 1809. It was regretted that the 
u obligations of political necessity 
should supersede the dictates of com¬ 
passion ; ” it was argued that the 
treaty referred to defence against the 
French, and not against a brother; 
and the loyal-hearted Sir David Och¬ 
terloney was chidden for the reception 
he gave to the distressed Shahzada. 
(Government to Sir D. Ochterloney, 
19th Jan., 1811, and the correspond¬ 
ence generally of Dec. 1810, and 
Jan. 1811.) 


154 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1812,1813. 


Runjeet 
Singh meets 
Futteh 
Khan, the 
Caubul 
Yuzeer, 
1812 ; 
and a joint 
enterprize 
against 
Cashmeer 
resolved on. 


Futteh 
Khan out¬ 
strips the 
Sikhs, and 
holds the 
valley for 
Mehmood, 
1813. 

Shah Shoo- 
ja joins 
Runjeet 
Singh, who 
acquires 
Attok ; 


while Moh- 
kum Chund 
defeats the 
Caubul Yu¬ 
zeer in a 
pitched 
battle. 


had crossed the Indus with the design of marching 
against Cashmeer, he sought an interview with him, 
and said he would assist in bringing to punishment 
both the rebel, who detained the king’s brother, and 
likewise the governor of Mooltan, who had refused 
obedience to Mehmood. Futteh Khan had been equally 
desirous of an interview, for he felt that he could not 
take Cashmeer if opposed by Runjeet Singh, and he 
readily promised anything to facilitate his immediate 
object. The Muharaja and the Vuzeer each hoped to 
use the other as a tool, yet the success of neither was 
complete. Cashmeer was occupied in February 1813 ; 
but Futteh Khan outstripped the Sikhs under Mohkum 
Chund, and he maintained that as he alone had achieved 
the conquest, the Muharaja could not share in the spoils. 
The only advantage which accrued to Runjeet Singh 
was the possession of Shah Shooja’s person, for the ill- 
fated king was allowed by Futteh Khan to go whither 
he pleased, and he preferred joining the Sikh army, 
which he accompanied to Lahore, to becoming virtually 
a prisoner in Caubul.* But the Muharaja’s expedients 
did not entirely fail him, and as the rebel governor of 
Attok was alarmed by the success of Shah Mehmood’s 
party in Cashmeer, he was easily persuaded to yield the 
fort to Runjeet Singh. This unlooked-for stroke in¬ 
censed Futteh Khan, who accused the Muharaja of bare¬ 
faced treachery, and endeavored further to intimidate him 
by pretending to make overtures to Shah Shooja ; but 
the Muharaja felt confident of his strength, and a battle 
was fought on the 13th July, 1813, near Attok, in 
which the Caubul Vuzeer, and his brother Dost Ma¬ 
homed Khan, were defeated by Mohkum Chund and 
the Sikhs.t 


* Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 92. | Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 95. 

95. ; Sir David Ochterloney to Go- 100.; Sir D. Ochterloney to Go¬ 
vernment, 4th March, 1813; and vernment, 1st July, 1813. 

Shah Shooja’s Autobiography, chap. 

XXV. 


Chap. VI.] RUNJEET SINGH AND FUTTEH KHAN. 


155 


Runjeet Singh was equally desirous of detaining 
Shah Shooja in Lahore, and of securing the great dia¬ 
mond which had adorned the throne of the Moghuls. 
The king evaded a compliance with all demands for a 
time, and rejected even the actual offer of moderate 
sums of money ; but at last the Muharaja visited the 
Shah in person, mutual friendship was declared, an ex¬ 
change of turbans took place, the diamond was sur¬ 
rendered, and the king received the assignment of a 
jagheer in the Punjab for his maintenance, and a pro¬ 
mise of aid in recovering Caubul. Runjeet Singh then 
moved towards the Indus to watch the proceedings of 
Futteh Khan, who was gradually consolidating the 
power of Mehmood, and he required Shah Shooja to 
join him, perhaps with some design of making an at¬ 
tempt on Cashmeer ; but Futteh Khan was likewise 
watchful, the season was advanced, and the Muharaja 
suddenly returned. Shah Shooja followed slowly, and 
on the way he was plundered of many valuables, by or¬ 
dinary robbers, as the Sikhs said, but by the Sikhs 
themselves, as the Shah believed. The inferior agents 
of Runjeet Singh may not have been very scrupulous, 
but the Shah had traitors in his own household, and 
the high officer who had been sent to conduct Mr. El- 
phinstone to Peshawur, embezzled much of the Shah’s 
property when misfortune overtook him. This Meer 
Abool Hussun had originally informed the Sikh chief 
of the safety of the Koh-i-noor and other valuables, he 
plotted when in Lahore, to make it appear the king was 
in league with the governor of Cashmeer, and he 
finally threw difficulties in the way of the escape of his 
master’s family from the Sikh capital. The flight of 


1813,1814. 



and pro¬ 
mises aid 
to Shah 
Shooja. 

Makes a 
movement 
towards the 
Indus. 


Shah Shoo- 
ja’s dis¬ 
tresses. 


The flight of 


* Murray’s Runjeet Singh , p. 96., get possession of the diamond, is 
&c. ; Shah Shooja's Autobiography , more favorable than Capt. Murray’s 
chap. xxv.; Sir D. Ochterloney to to Runjeet Singh. The Shah wanted 
Government, 16th and 23rd April, a jagheer of 100,000 rupees, and one 
1813, and to the Resident at Delhi, of 50,000 was assigned to him; but 
15th Oct., 1813. The Shah’s own effect to the assignment was never 
account of the methods practised to given, nor perhaps expected. 


156 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1814— 

1816. 

his family 
from La¬ 
hore to 
Loodiana, 
1814 ; 
April, 1815; 
and his own 
— escape to 
Kishtwar. 


Fails against 
Cashmeer, 
and retires 
to Loodi¬ 
ana, 1816. 


Runjeet 
Singh at¬ 
tempts 
Cashmeer 
and is re¬ 
pulsed, 
1814. 


the Begums to Loodiana was at last effected in Decem¬ 
ber 1814 ; for Shah Shooja perceived the design of the 
Muharaja to detain him a prisoner, and to make use of 
his name for purposes of his own. A few months after¬ 
wards the Shah himself escaped to the hills; he was 
joined by some Sikhs discontented with Runjeet Singh, 
and he was aided by the chief of Kishtwar in an attack 
upon Cashmeer. He penetrated into the valley, but he 
had to retreat, and, after residing for some time longer 
with his simple, but zealous, mountain host, he marched 
through Kooloo, crossed the Sutlej, and joined his 
family at Loodiana in September, 1816.* His presence 
on the frontier was regarded as embarrassing by the 
British Government, which desired that he should be 
urged to retire to Kurnal or Seharunpoor, and Sir 
David Ochterloney was further discretionally authorized 
to tell Runjeet Singh that the ex-king of Cauhul was 
not a welcome guest within the limits of Hindostan. 
Nevertheless the annual sum of 18,000 rupees, which 
had been assigned for the support of his family, was 
raised to 50,000 on his arrival, and personally he was 
treated with becoming respect and consideration, t 
Shah Shooja thus slipped from the hands of the Mu¬ 
haraja, and no use could be made of his name in further 
attempts upon Cashmeer ; but Runjeet Singh continued 
as anxious as ever to obtain possession of the valley, 
although the governor had, in the mean time, put him¬ 
self in communication with the English.t The chiefs 
south of the Peer Punjal range having been brought 
under subjection, military operations were commenced 
towards the middle of the year 1814. Sickness de¬ 
tained the experienced Mohkum Chund at the capital, 


* Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 102, 
103.; Shah Shooja’s Autobiography , 
chap, xxv., xxvi. 

f Government to Sir D. Ochter¬ 
loney, 2nd and 20th Aug., 1815, and 
14th, 21st, and 28th Sept., 1816. 
The Wuflfa Begum had before been 


told that the Shah’s family had no 
claims to British protection or inter¬ 
vention. (Government to Resident 
at Delhi, 19th Dec., 1812, and 1st 
July, 1813.) 

t Government to Sir D. Ochter¬ 
loney, 29th Oct. and 23rd Nov., 1813. 


Chap. VI.] EXPEDITION AGAINST CASHMEER. 


157 


but he warned the Muharaja of the difficulties which 
would beset him as soon as the rains set in, and he al¬ 
most urged the postponement of the expedition. But 
the necessary arrangements had been completed, and 
the approach was made in two columns. The more ad¬ 
vanced division surmounted the lofty barrier, a detach¬ 
ment of the Afghan force was repulsed, and the town 
of Soopein was attacked; but the assault failed, and 
the Sikhs retired to the mountain passes. Mahomed 
Azeem Khan, the governor, then fell on the main body 
of Runjeet Singh, which had been long in view on the 
skirts of the valley, and compelled the Muharaja to re¬ 
treat with precipitation. The rainy season had fairly 
set in, the army became disorganised, a brave chief, 
Mit’h Singh Behraneea, was slain, and Runjeet Singh 
reached his capital almost alone about the middle of 
August. The advanced detachment was spared by 
Mahomed Azeem Khan, out of regard, he said, for 
Mohkum Chund, the grandfather of its commander ; 
and as doubtless the aspiring brother of the Vuzeer 
Futteh Khan had views of his own amid the struggles 
then going on for power, he may have thought it pru¬ 
dent to improve every opportunity to the advantage of 
his own reputation.* 

The efforts made during the expedition to Cashmeer 
had been great, and the Muharaja took some time to 
reorganize his means. Towards the middle of 1815, 
he sent detachments of troops to levy exactions around 
Mooltan, but he himself remained at Adeenanuggur, 
busy with internal arrangements, and perhaps intent 
upon the war then in progress between the British and 
the Nepalese, and which, for a period of six months, 
was scarcely worthy of the English name. The end of 
the same year was employed in again reducing the 
Mahometan tribes south-east of Cashmeer, who had 


1815,1816. 


Various 
chiefs in 
the hills, 
and various 
places to¬ 
wards the 
Indus, re¬ 
duced, 
1815-16. 


* Murray’s Runjeet Singh , p. 104. wan Mohkum Chund died soon after 
108., and Sir D. Ochterloney to Runjeet Singh’s return. 

Government, 13th Aug., 1814. Dee- 


158 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


thrown off their allegiance during the retreat of the 
Sikhs. In the beginning of 1816, the refractory hill 
raja of Noorpoor sought poverty and an asylum in the 
British dominions, rather than resign his territories and 
accept a maintenance. The Mahometan chiefship of 
Jhung was next finally confiscated, and Leia, a depen¬ 
dency of Dera Ismaeel Khan, was laid under contri¬ 
bution. Ootch on the Chenab, the seat of families of 
Syeds, was temporarily occupied by Futteh Singh 
Alhoowaleea, and the possessions of Jodh Singh Ram- 
gurheea, lately deceased, the son of Jussa the Car¬ 
penter the confederate of the Muharaja’s father, were 
seized and annexed to the territories of the Lahore 
government. Sunsar Chund was honored and alarmed 
by a visit from his old ally, and the year 1816 termi¬ 
nated with the Muharaja’s triumphant return to 
Amritsir.* 

The northern plains and lower hills of the Punjab 
had been fairly reduced to obedience and order, and 
tan, 1818 . Runjeet Singh’s territories were bounded on the south 
and west by the real or nominal dependencies of Caubul, 
but the Muharaja’s meditated attacks upon them were 
postponed for a year by impaired health. His first 
object was Mooltan, and early in 1818, an army 
marched to attack it, under the nominal command of his 
son, Khurruk Singh, the titular reducer of Jummoo. To 
ask what were the Muharaja’s reasons for attacking 
Mooltan, would be futile; he thought the Sikhs had as 
good a right as the Afghans to take what they could, 
and the actual possessor of Mooltan had rather asserted 
his own independence than faithfully served the heirs of 
Ahmed Shah. A large sum of money was demanded 
and refused. In the course of February, the city was 
in possession of the Sikhs, but the fort held out until 
the beginning of June, and chance had then some share 
in its capture. An Akalee, named Sadhoo Singh, 
went forth to do battle for the “ Khalsa,” and the very 

* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 108. 111. 


Runjeet 
Singh cap- 


Chap. VI.] FUTTEH KHAN PUT TO DEATH. 


159 


suddenness of the onset of his small band led to success. isi8. 

The Sikhs, seeing the impression thus strangely made, --«-' 

arose together, carried the outwork, and found an easy 
entry through the breaches of a four months batter. 

Mozuffer Khan, the governor, and two of his sons, were 
slain in the assault, and two others were made prisoners. 

A considerable booty fell to the share of the soldiery, 
but when the army reached Lahore, the Muharaja 
directed that the plunder should be restored. He may 
have felt some pride that his commands were not alto¬ 
gether unheeded, but he complained that they were not 
so productive as he had expected.* 

During the same year, 1818, Futteh Khan, the Futteh 
Caubul Vuzeer, was put to death by Kamran, the son of ^ a "’ f Vu * 
Mehmood, the nominal ruler. He had gone to Heerat to caubul, put 
repel an attack of the Persians, and he was accompanied * 0 8 jg ath ’ 
by his brother, Dost Mahomed, who again had among 
his followers a Sikh chief, Jaee Singh Atareewala, who 
had left the Punjab in displeasure. Futteh Khan was 
successful, and applause was freely bestowed upon his 
measures ; but he wished to place Heerat, then held by 
a member of Ahmed Shah’s family, within his own 
grasp, and Dost Mahomed and his Sikh ally were em¬ 
ployed to eject and despoil the Prince-Governor. Dost 
Mahomed effected his purposes somewhat rudely, the 
person of a royal lady was touched in the eagerness of 
the riders to secure her jewels, and Kamran made this 
affront offered to a sister, a pretext for getting rid of 
the man who from the stay had become the tyrant of 
his family. Futteh Khan was first blinded and then 

* The place fell on the 2nd June, Mecca, and, although he returned in 
1818. See Murray’s Runjeet Singh , two years, he left the nominal control 
p. 114, &c. The Muharaja told Mr. of affairs with his son Surufraz Khan. 

Moorcroft that he had got very little On the last approach of Runjeet 
of the booty he attempted to recover. Singh, the old man refused, accord- 
(Moorcroft, Travels , i. 102.) Ma- ing to the Buhawulpoor annals, to 
homed Mozuffer Khan, the gover- send his family to the south of the 
nor, had held Mooltan from the time Sutlej, as on other occasions of siege; 
of the expulsion of the Sikhs of but whether he did so in the confi- 
the Bunghee “ Misl,” in 1779. In dence, or in the despair, of a success- 
1807 he went on a pilgrimage to ful resistance is not clear. 


160 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1818,1819. 


Mahomed 
Azeem pro¬ 
claims Shah 
Ayoob. 


Runjeet 
Singh 
marches to 
Peshawur, 


which he 
makes over 
to Jehan 
Dad Khan, 
1818. 


Runjeet 
Singh in¬ 
tent upon 
Cashmeer. 


Delayed by 
a discussion 
with the 
English, 
March, 
1819. 


murdered; and the crime saved Heerat, indeed, to Ahmed 
Shah’s heir, but deprived them for a time, and now per¬ 
haps for ever, of the rest of his possessions. Mahomed 
Azeem Khan hastened from Cashmeer, which he left in 
charge of Jubbar Khan, another of the many brothers. 
He at first thought of reinstating Shah Shooja, but he 
at last proclaimed Shah Ayoob as king, and in a few 
months he was master of Peshawur and Ghuznee, of 
Caubul and Candahar. This change of rulers favored, 
if it did not justify, the views of Runjeet Singh, and, 
towards the end of 1818, he crossed the Indus and 
entered Peshawur, which was evacuated on his approach. 
But it did not suit his purposes, at the time, to endeavor 
to retain the district; he garrisoned Khyrabad, which 
lies on the right bank of the river, so as to command the 
passage for the future, and then retired, placing Jehan 
Dad Khan, his old ally of Attok, in possession of Pesh¬ 
awur itself, to hold it as he could by his own means. 
The Barukzaee governor, Yar Mahomed Khan, returned 
as soon as Runjeet Singh had gone, and the powerless 
Jehan Dad made no attempt to defend his gift.* 

Runjeet Singh’s thoughts were now directed towards 
the annexation of Cashmeer, the garrison of which had 
been reduced by the withdrawal of some good troops by 
Mahomed Azeem Khan ; but the proceedings of Dehsa 
Singh Mujeetheea and Sunsar Chund, for a moment 
changed his designs upon others into fears for himself. 
These chiefs were employed on an expedition in the 
hills to collect the tribute due to the Muharaja ; and the 
Raja of Kuhloor, who held territories on both sides of 
the Sutlej, ventured to resist the demands made. Sunsar 
Chund rejoiced in this opportunity of revenge upon the 
friend of the Goorkhas; the river was crossed, but the 
British authorities were prompt, and a detachment of 

* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, Capt. Murray (p. 131.) places the 
p. 117. 120.; Shah Shooja’s Autobio - defection of Jaee Singh of Ataree, 
graphy , chap xxvii. ; and Moonshee in the year 1822 ; but compare also 
Mohun Lai’s Life of Dost Mahomed, i. Mr. Masson, Travels, iii. 21.32., in 
99. 104. support of the earlier date assigned. 


Chap. VI.] 


CASHMEER ANNEXED. 


161 


troops stood ready to oppose force to force. Runjeet 1819 , 1820 . 
Singh directed the immediate recall of his men, and he ' Y 
desired Sirdar Dehsa Singh to go in person, and offer 
his apologies to the English agent.* This alarm being 
over, the Muharaja proceeded with his preparations 
against Caslnneer, the troops occupying which, had, in 
the meantime, been reinforced by a detachment from 
Caubul. The Brahmin, Deewan Chund, who had ex¬ 
ercised the real command at Mooltan, was placed in 
advance, the Prince Khurruk Singh headed a support¬ 
ing column, and Runjeet Singh himself remained behind 
with a reserve and for the purpose of expediting the 
transit of the various munitions of war. The choice of 
the Sikh cavalry marched on foot over the mountains 
along with the infantry soldiers, and they dragged with 
them a few light guns ; the passes were scaled on the But finally 
5th July 1819, but Jubbar Khan was found ready to ^^ e t s o the 
receive them. The Afghans repulsed the invaders, and his domi- 
mastered two guns ; but they did not improve their suc¬ 
cess, and the rallied Sikhs again attacked them, and 
won an almost bloodless victory.t 

A few months after Cashmeer had been added to 
the Lahore dominions, Runjeet Singh moved in person 
to the south of the Punjab, and Dera Ghazee Khan on 
the Indus, another dependency of Caubul, was seized by 
the victorious Sikhs. The Nuwab of Buhawulpoor, 
who held lands under Runjeet Singh in the fork of the 
Indus and Chenab, had two years before made a suc¬ 
cessful attack on the Dooranee chief of the place, and 
it was now transferred to him in farm, although his 
Cis-Sutlej possessions had virtually, but not formally, 
been taken under British protection in the year 1815, 
and he had thus become, in a measure, independent of 
the Muharaja’s power .t During the year 1820 partial 


nions, 1819. 


The Dera- 
jat of the 
Indus an¬ 
nexed to 
Lahore, 
1819-20. 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh , f Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
p. 121, 122., and Moorcroft, Travels, p. 122—124. 

i. 110., for the duration of the Mu- % Government to Superintendent 
haraja’s displeasure with Dehsa Singh. Ambala, 15th Jan. 1815, and Sir 

M 


162 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1821 , 1822 . 


Mahomed 
Azeem 
Khan de¬ 
sirous of 
securing 
Peshawur, 
1818-21 ; 


from which 
Runjeet 
Singh de¬ 
mands and 
receives 
tribute, 
1822 . 


attempts were made to reduce the turbulent Mahometan 
tribes to the south-west of Cashmeer, and, in 1821, 
Runjeet Sing'll proceeded to complete his conquests on 
the Central Indus by the reduction of Dera Ismaeel 
Khan. The strong fort of Munkehra, situated between 
the two westernmost rivers of the Punjab, was held 
out for a time by Hafiz Ahmed Khan, the father of 
the titular governor, who scarcely owned a nominal 
subjection to Caubul; but the promise of honorable 
terms induced him to surrender before the end of the 
year, and the country on the right bank of the Indus, 
including Dera Ismaeel Khan, was left to him as a 
feudatory of Lahore.* 

Mahomed Azeem had succeeded to the power of his 
brother, Futteh Khan, and, being desirous of keeping 
Runjeet Singh to the left bank of the Indus, he moved 
to Peshawur in the year 1822, accompanied by Jaee 
Singh, the fugitive Sikh chief, with the intention of 
attacking Khyrabad opposite Attok. Other matters 
caused him hastily to retrace his steps, but his pro¬ 
ceedings had brought the Muharaja to the westward, 
who sent to Yar Mahomed Khan, the governor of 
Peshawur, and demanded tribute. This leader, who 
apprehended the designs of his brother, Mahomed Azeem 
Khan, almost as much as he dreaded Runjeet Singh, 
made an offering of some valuable horses.t The 
Muharaja was satisfied and withdrew, perhaps the more 
readily, as some differences had arisen with the British 
authorities regarding the right to a place named Whud- 
nee, to the south of the Sutlej, which had been trans¬ 
ferred by Runjeet Singh to his intriguing and ambitious 
mother-in-law, Sudda Kour, in the year 1808. The 

D. Ochterloney to Government, 23d presents offered, the Muharaja moved 
July, 1815. Compare Murray’s westward. 

Runjeet Singh, p. 124. The Buha- * Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
wulpoor Memoirs state that Runjeet p. 129, 130., and Sir A. Burnes’ Cau- 
Singh came down the Sutlej as far as bul, p. 92. 

Pakputtun, with the view of seizing f Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
Buhawulpoor, but that a show of re- p. 134—137. 
sistance having been made, and some 


Chap. YI.] MARCH AGAINST PESHAWUR. 


163 


lady was regarded by the English agents as being the 1822 , 1823 . 
independent representative of the interests of the Kuneia ; 

(or Ghunee) confederacy of Sikhs on their side of the prosecution 
river, and therefore as having a right to their pro- ^ t ^ el ^ ns 
tection. Bat Runjeet Singh had quarrelled with and with by a 
imprisoned his mother-in-law, and had taken possession 
of the fort of Whudnee. It was resolved to eject him English 
by force, and a detachment of troops marched from 
Loodiana and restored the authority of the captive law, and a 
widow, Runjeet Singh prudently made no attempt to ^hudm** 
resist the British agent, but he was not without appre- 1822 . 
hensions that his occupation of the place would be 
construed into a breach of the treaty, and he busied 
himself with defensive preparations. A friendly letter 
from the superior authorities at Delhi relieved him of 
his fears, and allowed him to prosecute his designs 
against Peshawur without further interruption.* 

Mahomed Azeem Khan disapproved of the presenta- The Sikhs 
tion of horses to Runjeet Singh by Yar Mahomed Khan, ^inst 
and he repaired to Peshawur in January 1823. Yar Peshawur, 
Mahomed fled into the Eusofzaee hills rather than meet 1823 ‘ 
his brother, and the province seemed lost to one branch 
of the numerous family; but the chief of the Sikhs 
was at hand, resolved to assert his equality of right or 
his superiority of power. The Indus was forded on the 
13th March, the guns being carried across on ele¬ 
phants. The territory of the Khuttuks bordering the 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
p. 134., where the proceedings are 
given very briefly, and scarcely with 
accuracy. Capt. Murray’s and Capt. 
Ross’s letters to the Resident at 
Delhi, from Feb. to Sept. f822, give 
details, and other information is ob¬ 
tainable from the letters of Sir D. 
Ochterloney to Capt. Ross, dated 
7th Nov. 1821, and of the Governor 
General’s Agent at Delhi to Capt. 
Murray, of 22d June, and to Govern¬ 
ment of the 23d Aug. 1822; and 
from those of Government to the 
Governor General’s Agent, 24th 


April, 13th July, and 18th Oct., 
1822. On this occasion the Akalee 
Phoola Singh is reported, by Capt. 
Murray, to have offered to retake 
Whudhee single-handed, and Run¬ 
jeet Singh to have commissioned him 
to embody a thousand of his brethren. 
[Sir Claude Wade (Narrative of Per¬ 
sonal Services, p. 10, note) represents 
Sir Charles Metcalfe to have con¬ 
sidered the proceedings of the English 
with regard to Whudnee, as unwar¬ 
ranted—for with the domestic con¬ 
cerns of the Muharaja they had no 
political concern.] 


164 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


The battle 
of Nosheh- 
ra, 14th 
March, 
1823. 


Pesliawur 

reduced, 

but left as a 

dependency 

with Yar 

Mahomed 

Khan. 

Death of 
Mahomed 
Azeem 
Khan, 

1823. 


river was occupied, and at Akora the Muharaja re¬ 
ceived and pardoned the fugitive Jaee Singh Atareewala. 
A religious war had been preached, and twenty thou¬ 
sand men, of the Khuttuk and Eusofzaee tribes, had been 
assembled by their priests and devotees to fight for 
their faith against the unbelieving invaders. This body 
of men was posted on and around heights near No- 
shehra, but on the left bank of the Caubul river, while 
Mahomed Azeem Khan, distrustful of his influence 
over the independent militia, and of the fidelity of his 
brothers, occupied a position higher up on the right 
bank of the stream. Runjeet Singh detached a force to 
keep the Vuzeer in check, and crossed the river to 
attack the armed peasantry. The Sikh “ Akalees” at 
once rushed upon the Mahometan “ Ghazees,” but 
Phoola Singh, the wild leader of the fanatics of Amritsir, 
was slain, and his horsemen made no impression on 
masses of footmen advantageously posted. The Afghans 
then exultingly advanced, and threw the drilled infantry 
of the Lahore ruler into confusion. They were checked 
by the fire of the rallying battalions, and by the play of 
the artillery drawn up on the opposite bank of the 
river, and at length Runjeet Singh’s personal exertions 
with his cavalry converted the check into a victory. 
The brave and believing mountaineers reassembled after 
their rout, and next day they were willing to renew the 
fight under their “Peerzada,” Mahomed Akber; but the 
Caubul Vuzeer had fled with precipitation, and they 
were without countenance or support. Peshawur was 
sacked, and the country plundered up to the Khyber 
Pass; but the hostile spirit of the population rendered 
the province of difficult retention, and the prudent 
Muharaja gladly accepted Yar Mahomed’s tender of 
submission. Mahomed Azeem Khan died shortly after¬ 
wards, and with him expired all show of unanimity 
among the bands of brothers who possessed the three 
capitals of Peshawur, Caubul, and Candahar ; while 
Shah Mehmood and his son Kamran exercised a pre¬ 
carious authority in Heerat, and Shah Ayoob, who had 


Chap. VI.] 


DEATH OF SUNSAR CHUND. 


165 


been proclaimed titular monarch of Afghanistan, re¬ 
mained a cipher in his chief city.* 

Towards the end of the year 1823, Runjeet Singh 
marched to the south-west corner of his territories, to 
reduce refractory Mahometan Jagheerdars, and to create 
an impression of his power on the frontiers of Sindh,— 
to tribute from the Ameers of which country, he had 
already advanced some claims.t He likewise pretended 
to regard Shikarpoor as a usurpation of the Talpoor 
dynasty; but his plans were not yet matured, and he 
returned to his capital to learn of the death of Sunsar 
Chund. He gave his consent to the succession of the 
son of a chief whose power once surpassed his own, and 
the Prince Khurruk Singh exchanged turbans, in token 
of brotherhood, with the heir of tributary Kototch.t 


Runjeet Singh had now brought under his sway the 
three Mahometan provinces of Cashmeer, Mooltan, and 
Peshawur: he was supreme in the hills and plains of 
the Punjab proper; the mass of his dominion had been 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh , 
p. 137, &c. ; Moorcroft’s Travels , ii. 
333, 334. ; and Masson’s Journeys, iii. 
58—60. Runjeet Singh told Capt. 
Wade that, of his disciplined troops, 
his Goorkhas alone stood firm under 
the assault of the Mahometans. 
(Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, 
3d April, 1839.)^ 

The fanatic, Phoola Singh, already 
referred to in the preceding note, 
was a man of some notoriety. In 
1809, he attacked Sir Charles Met¬ 
calfe’s camp, and afterwards the party 
of a British officer employed in sur¬ 
veying the Cis-Sutlej states. In 
1814-15, he fortified himself in 
Ubohur (between Feerozpoor and 
Bhutneer), since construed into a 
British possession (Capt. Murray to 
Agent, Delhi, 15th May, 1823); and, 
in 1820, he told Mr. Moorcroft, that 
he was dissatisfied with Runjeet 
Singh, that he was ready to join the 
English, and that, indeed, he would 
carry fire and sword wherever Mr. 

M 


Moorcroft might desire. ( Travels, 
i. 110.) 

With regard to Dost Mahomed 
Khan, it is well known, and Mr. 
Masson ( Journeys , iii. 59, 60.), and 
Moonshee Mohun Lai ( Life of Dost 
Mahomed, i. 127, 128), both show 
the extent to which he was an in¬ 
triguer on this occasion. This cir¬ 
cumstance was subsequently lost sight 
of by the British negotiators and the 
British public, and Sikh and Af¬ 
ghan leaders were regarded as essen¬ 
tially antagonistic, instead of as ready 
to coalesce for their selfish ends under 
any of several probable contingen¬ 
cies. 

f Capt. Murray to the Governor 
General’s Agent, Delhi, 15th Dec. 
1825, and Capt. Wade to the same, 
7th Aug., 1823. 

| Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 141. 
For an interesting account of Sunsar 
Chund, his family, and his country, 
see Moorcroft’s Travels, i. 126—146. 

3 


1823,1824. 


Runjeet 
Singh feels 
his way to¬ 
wards 
Sindh, 
1823-24. 


Sunsar 
Chund of 
Kototch 
dies, end of 
1824. 


Runjeet 
Singh’s 
power con¬ 
solidated, 
and the 
mass of his 
dominion 
acquired. 



166 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1818 — acquired ; and, although his designs on Ludakh and 
. I8 ^ L , Sindh were obvious, a pause in the narrative of his 
actions may conveniently take place, for the purpose of 
relating other matters necessary to a right understand¬ 
ing of his character, and which intimately bear on the 
general history of the country. 

Misceiia- Shah Shooja reached Loodiana, as has been men- 
act°ious. raUS " tioned, in the year 1816, and secured for himself an 
shah shoo- honored repose: but his thoughts were intent on 
dition* ,e " Gaubul and Candahar; he disliked the British notion 
against that he had tamely sought an asylum, and he wished 
and k pesha- t0 be regarded as a prince in distress, seeking for aid 
wur, 1818 - to enable him to recover his crown. He had hopes 
held out to him by the Ameers of Sindh when hard 
pressed, perhaps, by Futteh Khan, and he conceived that 
an invasion of Afghanistan might be successfully prose¬ 
cuted from the southward. He made offers of ad¬ 
vantage to the English, but he was told that they had 
no concern with the affairs of strangers, and desired to 
live in peace with all their neighbors. He was thus cast¬ 
ing about for means, when Futteh Khan was murdered, 
and the tenders of allegiance which he received from 
Mahomed Azeem Khan, at once induced him to quit 
Loodiana. He left that place in October 1818 : with 
the aid of the Nuwab of Buhawulpoor, he mastered 
Dera Ghazee Khan; he sent his son Tymoor to oc¬ 
cupy Shikar poor, and he proceeded in person towards 
Peshawur, to become, as he believed, the king of the 
Dooranees. But Mahomed Azeem Khan had, in the 
meantime, seen fit to proclaim himself the Vuzeer of 
Ayoob, and Shah Shooja, hard pressed, sought safety 
among some friendly clans in the Khyber hills. He 
was driven thence at the end of two months, and had 
scarcely entered Shikarpoor, when Mahomed Azeem 
Khan’s approach compelled him to retire. He went, 
first, to Khyrpoor, and afterwards to Hydrabad, and, 
having procured some money from the Sindhians, he 
returned and recovered Shikarpoor, where he resided 
for a year. But Mahomed Azeem Khan again ap- 


Chap. VI.] 


APPA SAHIB OP NAGPOOR. 


167 


proached, the Hydrabad chiefs pretended that the Shah 
was plotting to bring in the English, and their money 
was this time paid for his expulsion. The ex-king, 
finding his position untenable, retired through Raj- 
pootana to Delhi, and eventually took up his residence a 
second time at Loodiana in June, 1821. His brother, 
the blind Shah Zuman, after visiting Persia, and per¬ 
haps Arabia, arrived at the same place about the same 
time and by nearly the same road. Shah Shooja’s 
stipend had all along been drawn by his family, repre¬ 
sented by the able and faithful Wuffa Begum, and an 
allowance, first, of 18,000, and afterwards of 24,000 
rupees a year, was assigned for the support of Shah 
Zuman, when he also became a petitioner to the English 
government.* 

In the year 1820, Appa Sahib, the deposed Raja of 
the Mahratta kingdom of Nagpoor, escaped from the 
custody of the British authorities and repaired to Am- 
ritsir. He would seem to have had the command of 
large sums of money, and he endeavored to engage 
Runjeet Singh in his cause ; but the Muharaja had been 
told the fugitive was the violent enemy of his English 
allies, and he ordered him to quit his territories. The 
chief took up his abode for a time in Sunsar Chund’s 
principality of Kototch, and while there he would ap¬ 
pear to have entered into some idle schemes with Prince 
Hyder, a son of Shah Zuman, for the subjugation of 
India south and east of the Sutlej. The Dooranee 
was to be monarch of the whole, from Delhi to Cape 
Comorin; but the Mahratta was to be Vuzeer of the 
empire, and to hold the Deccan as a dependent sove- 


1821,1822. 

The Shah 
returns to 
Loodiana, 
1821 ; 


and is fol¬ 
lowed by- 
Shah Zu¬ 
man, who 
takes up 
his abode at 
the same 
place. 


Appa Sahib, 
Ex-Raja of 
Nagpoor, 
1820-22. 


His idle 
schemes 
with the 
son of Shah 
Zuman. 


* Compare Shah Shooja’s Autobiog. 
ch. xxvii., xxviii., xxix., in the Cal¬ 
cutta Monthly Journal for 1839, and 
the Buhawulpoor Family Annals (Ma¬ 
nuscript). Capt. Murray (History of 
Runjeet Singh, p. 103.), merely states 
that Shah Shooja made an unsuc¬ 
cessful attempt to recover his throne; 
but the following letters may be re* 


ferred to in support of all that is in¬ 
cluded in the paragraph : — Govern¬ 
ment to Resident, Delhi, 10th May 
and 7th June, 1817; Capt. Murray 
to Resident, Delhi, 22d Sept, and 
10th Oct., 1818, and 1st April, 1825 ; 
and Capt. Murray to Sir D. Ochter- 
loney, 29th April, 30th June, and 
27th Aug., 1821. 


168 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1822 . reign. The Punjab was not included; but it did not 
' v ' transpire that either Runjeet Singh, or Sunsar Chund, 
or the two ex-kings of Caubul, were privy to the de¬ 
sign, and, as soon as the circumstance became known, 
Sunsar Chund compelled his guest to proceed elsewhere. 
Appa Sahib repaired, in 1822, to Mundee, which lies 
between Kanggra and the Sutlej ; but he wandered to 
Amritsir about 1828, and only finally quitted the 
country during the following year, to find an asylum 
with the Raja of Jodhpoor. That state had become an 
English dependency, and the ex-raja’s surrender was 
required; but the strong objections of the Rajpoot 
induced the Government to be satisfied with a promise 
of his safe custody, and he died almost forgotten in the 
year 1840.* 

The petty As has been mentioned, the Raja Beer Singh, of 
No"orpoor° f Noorpoor, in the hills, had been dispossessed of his 
causes Run- chiefship in the year 1816. He sought refuge to the 
some Smgtl sout h °f the Sutlej, and immediately made proposals 
anxiety to Shah Shooja, who had just reached Loodiana, to 

his'resort enter ^ nto a combination against Runjeet Singh. The 

to theEn- Muharaja had not altogether despised similar tenders of 
allegiance from various discontented chiefs, when the 
Shah was his prisoner guest in Lahore; he remembered 
the treaty between the Shah and the English, and he 
knew how readily dethroned kings might be made use 
of by the ambitious. He wished to ascertain the views 
of the English authorities, but he veiled his suspicions 
of them in terms of apprehension of the Noorpoor Raja. 
His troops, he said, were absent in the neighborhood 
of Mooltan, and Beer Singh might cross the Sutlej and 
raise disturbances. The reception of emissaries by Shah 
Shooja was then discountenanced, and the residence of 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, ray’s letters to Resident at Delhi, 
p. 126.; Moorcroft’s Travels, i. 109.; 24th Nov. and 22d Dec., 1821, the 
and the quasi official authority, the 13th Jan. 1822, and 16th June, 1 824 ; 
Bengal and Agra Gazetteer for 1841, and likewise Capt. Wade to ResU 
1842 (articles “ Nagpoor” and dent at Delhi, 15th March, 1828. 
Jodhpoor”). See also Capt. Mur- 


Chap. VI.] THE TRAVELLER MOORCROFT. 


169 


the exiled Raja at Loodiana was discouraged; but isi9,i82o. 
Runjeet Singh was told that his right to attempt the * 
recovery of his chiefship was admitted, although he 
would not be allowed to organize the means of doing 
so within the British limits. The Muharaja seemed 
satisfied that Lahore would be safe while absent in the 
south or west, and he said no more.* 

In the year 1819? the able and adventurous traveller, The travei- 
Moorcroft, left the plains of India in the hope of croft*iii tke 
reaching Yarkund and Bokhara. In the hills of the Punjab, 
Punjab he experienced difficulties, and he was induced 1820 ‘ 
to repair to Lahore to wait upon Runjeet Singh. He 
was honorably received, and any lurking suspicions of 
his own designs, or of the views of his Government, 
were soon dispelled. The Muharaja conversed with 
frankness of the events of his life; he showed the 
traveller his bands of horsemen and battalions of in¬ 
fantry, and encouraged him to visit any part of the 
capital without hesitation, and at his own leisure. Mr. 
Moorcroft’s medical skill and general knowledge, his 
candid manner and personal activity, produced an im¬ 
pression favorable to himself and advantageous to his 
countrymen; but his proposition that British mer¬ 
chandize should be admitted into the Punjab at a fixed 
scale of duties, was received with evasion. The Muha- 
raja’s revenues might be affected, it was said, and his prin¬ 
cipal officers, whose advice was necessary, were absent 
on distant expeditions. Every facility was afforded to 
Mr. Moorcroft in prosecuting his journey, and it was 
arranged that, if he could not reach Yarkund from 
Tibet, he might proceed through Cashmeer to Caubul 
and Bokhara, the route which it was eventually found 


* The public correspondence ge- seized and imprisoned. (Murray’s 
nerally of 1816-17, has here been Runjeet Singh, p. 145., and Capt. 
referred to, and especially the letter Murray to Resident at Delhi, 25th 
of Government to Resident at Delhi, Feb. 1827.) He was subsequently 
dated 11th April, 1817. In 1826 Beer released, and was alive, but unheeded, 
Singh made another attempt to re- in 1844. 
cover his principality ; but he was 


170 


HISTORY OF THE SIKIIS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1821 . necessary to pursue. Mr. Moorcroft reached Ludakh 
' v ; in safety, and in 1821 he became possessed of a letter 
from the Russian minister, Prince Nesselrode, recom¬ 
mending a merchant to the good offices of Runjeet 
Singh, and assuring him that the traders of the Punjab 
would be well received in the Russian dominions — for 
the emperor was himself a benign ruler, he earnestly 
desired the prosperity of other countries, and he was 
especially the well-wisher of that reigned over by the 
King of the Sikhs. The person recommended had died 
on his way southward from Russia; and it appeared 
that, six years previously, he had been the bearer of 
similar communications for the Muharaja of Lahore, 
and the Raja of Ludakh. # 

Runjeet Runjeet Singh now possessed a broad dominion, and 

general sys- ai1 instructed intellect might have rejoiced in the oppor- 
tem of go- tunity afforded for wise legislation, and for consolidating 
—w’of aggregated provinces into one harmonious empire. But 
his means such a task neither suited the Muharaja’s genius nor that 
rity as^* 10 " °f ^ Sikh nation ; nor is it, perhaps, agreeable to the 
leader of constitution of any political society, that its limits shall be 
the Sikhs. fl xe( ^ or t j lat p erva( Ji n g spirit of a people shall rest, 
until its expansive force is destroyed and becomes 
obnoxious to change and decay. Runjeet Singh 
grasped the more obvious characteristics of the impulse 
given by Nanuk and Govind; he dexterously turned 
them to the purposes of his own material ambition, and 
he appeared to be an absolute monarch in the midst of 
willing and obedient subjects. But he knew that he 
merely directed into a particular channel a power which 
he could neither destroy nor control, and that, to pre¬ 
vent the Sikhs turning upon himself, or contending with 
one another, he must regularly engage them in conquest 
and remote warfare. The first political system of the 
emancipated Sikhs had crumbled to pieces, partly 
through its own defects, partly owing to its contact 

* Moorcroft, Travels , i. 99. 103. ; to a previous letter to Runjeet 
and see also 383. 387. with respect Singh. 


Chap. VI.] 


RUNJEET SINGH’S GOVERNMENT. 


with a well-ordered and civilized government, and 
partly in consequence of the ascendancy of one superior 
mind. The “ Misls ” had vanished, or were only re¬ 
presented by Alhoowaleea and Putteeala (or Phoolkeea), 
the one depending on the personal friendship of Runjeet 
Singh for its chief, and the other upheld in separate 
portions by the expediency of the English. But Run¬ 
jeet Singh never thought his own, or the Sikh sway 
was to be confined to the Punjab, and his only wish 
was to lead armies as far as faith in the Khalsa and 
confidence in his skill would take brave and believing 
men. He troubled himself not at all with the theory 
or the practical niceties of administration, and he would 
rather have added a province to his rule, than have 
received the assurances of his English neighbors that 
he legislated with discrimination in commercial affairs, 
and with a just regard for the amelioration of his igno¬ 
rant and fanatical subjects of various persuasions. He 
took from the land as much as it could readily yield, 
and he took from merchants as much as they could 
profitably give ; he put down open marauding ; the 
Sikh peasantry enjoyed a light assessment; no local 
officer dared to oppress a member of the Khalsa ; and 
if elsewhere the farmers of revenue were resisted in 
their tyrannical proceedings, they were more likely to 
be changed than to be supported by battalions. He did 
not ordinarily punish men who took redress into their 
own hands, for which, indeed, his subordinates were 
prepared, and which they guarded against as they could. 
The whole wealth, and the whole energies, of the 
people, were devoted to war, and to the preparation of 
military means and equipment. The system is that 
common to all feudal governments, and it gives much 
scope to individual ambition, and tends to produce inde¬ 
pendence of character. It suited the mass of the Sikh 
population ; they had ample employment, they loved 
contention, and they were pleased that city after city 
admitted the supremacy of the Khalsa, and enabled 


172 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. YI. 


1821. them to enrich their families. But Runjeet Singh 
* never arrogated to himself the title or the powers of 
despot or tyrant. He was assiduous in his devotions ; 
he honored men of reputed sanctity, and enabled them 
to practise an enlarged charity ; he attributed every 
success to the favor of God, and he styled himself and 
people collectively the “ Khalsa,” or commonwealth of 
Govind. Whether in walking barefooted to make his 
obeisance to a collateral representative of his prophets, 
or in rewarding a soldier distinguished by that symbol 
of his faith, a long and ample beard, or in restraining 
the excesses of the fanatical Akalees, or in beating an 
army and acquiring a province, his own name and his 
own motives were kept carefully concealed, and every 
thing was done for the sake of the Gooroo, for the 
advantage of the Khalsa, and in the name of the Lord.* 


* Runjeet Singh, in writing or in 
talking of his government, always 
used the term “ Khalsa.” On his 
seal he wrote, as any Sikh usually 
writes, his name, with the prefix 
“ Akal Suhaee,” that is, for instance, 
“ God the helper, Runjeet Singh,” 
— an inscription strongly resembling 
the “ God with us ” of the Common¬ 
wealth of England. Professor Wil¬ 
son ( Joum . Royal Asiatic Society, 
No. xvii. p. 51.), thus seems scarcely 
justified in saying that Runjeet Singh 
deposed Nanuk and Govind, and 
the supreme ruler of the universe, 
and held himself to be the imper¬ 
sonation of the Khalsa ! 

With respect to the abstract ex¬ 
cellence or moderation, or the prac¬ 
tical efficiency or suitableness of the 
Sikh government, opinions will al¬ 
ways differ, as they will about all 
other governments. It is not simply 
an unmeaning truism to say, that the 
Sikh government suited the Sikhs 
well, for such a degree of fitness is 
one of the ends of all governments of 
ruling classes, and the adaptation has 
thus a degree of positive merit. In 
judging of individuals, moreover, the 
extent and the peculiarities of the 


civilization of their times should be 
remembered, and the present condition 
of the Punjab shows a combination of 
the characteristics of rising mediaeval 
Europe and of the decaying By¬ 
zantine empire, — semi-barbarous in 
either light, but possessed at once of 
a native youthful vigor, and of an 
extraneous knowledge of many of the 
arts which adorn life in the most 
advanced stages of society. 

The fact, again, that a city like 
Amritsir is the creation of the Sikhs, 
at once refutes many charges of op¬ 
pression or misgovernment, and Col. 
Francklin only repeats the general 
opinion of the time when he says 
(Life of Shah Alum, p. 77.), that the 
lands under Sikh rule were cultivated 
with great assiduity. Mr. Masson 
could hear of no complaints in Mool- 
tan ( Journeys , i. 30. 398.), and al¬ 
though Mooreroft notices the de¬ 
pressed condition of the Cashmeerees 
( Travels, i. 123.), he does not notice 
the circumstance of a grievous famine 
having occurred shortly before his 
visit, which drove thousands of the 
people to the plains of India, and he 
forgets that the valley had been 
under the sway of Afghan adven- 



Chap. VI.] 


THE SIKH ARMY. 


173 


In the year 1822 , the French generals, Ventura 1822. 
and Allard, reached Lahore by way of Persia and Af- v 
ghanistan, and, after some little hesitation, they were The Sikh 
employed and treated with distinction.* It has been army ‘ 

1 * • • Arrival of 

usual to attribute the superiority of the Sikh army to French 
the labors of these two officers, and of their subsequent °*^ s e at 
coadjutors, the Generals Court and Avitabile ; but, in 182 2. 
truth, the Sikh owes his excellence as a soldier, to his Exceiien- 
own hardihood of character, to that spirit of adaptation g£ 8 h ° f ^ e 
which distinguishes every new people, and to that soldiers, 
feeling of a common interest and destiny implanted in 
him by his great teachers. The Rajpoots and Puthans charac- 
are valiant and high-minded warriors : but their pride ^^ts° f 
and their courage are personal only, and concern them and Pu- 
as men of ancient family and noble lineage ; they will thans ’ 
do nothing unworthy of their birth, but they are indif¬ 
ferent to the political advancement of their race. The 
efforts of the Mahrattas in emancipating themselves ofMah - 
from a foreign yoke, were neither guided nor strength¬ 
ened by any distinct hope or desire. They became 
free, but knew not how to remain independent, and 
they allowed a crafty Brahmin to turn their aimless 
aspirations to his own profit, and to found a dynasty of 
44 Peshwalls” on the achievements of unlettered Soodras. 
Ambitious soldiers took a further advantage of the 
spirit called up by Sevajee, but as it was not sustained 
by any pervading religious principle of action, a few 
generations saw the race yield to the expiring efforts of 
Mahometanism, and the Mahrattas owe their present 
position, as rulers, to the intervention of European 
strangers. The genuine Mahratta can scarcely be said 
to exist, and the two hundred thousand spearmen of 
the last century are once more shepherds and tillers of 
the ground. Similar remarks apply to the Goorkhas, an d of 
that other Indian people which has risen to greatness Goorkhas - 

turers for many years, the severity of * Murray’s Runjed Singh, p. 131., 
whose rule is noticed by Forster &c. 

( Travels, ii. 26, &c.). 


174 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1822. 


Aversion of 
the older 
military- 
tribes of 
India to 
regular 
discipline, 


with the ex¬ 
ception of 
the Goor- 
khas, and 
partially of 
the Maho¬ 
metans. 

The Sikh 
forces origi¬ 
nally com¬ 
posed of 
horsemen 
armed with 
matchlocks. 

Notices of 
the Sikh 
troops, by 
Forster, 
1783 ; 
by Malcolm, 
1805 ; 
and by Och- 
terloney, 
1810. 


in latter times by its own innate power, unmingled 
with religious hope. They became masters, but no 
peculiar institution formed the landmark of their 
thoughts, and the vitality of the original impulse 
seems fast waning before the superstition of an ignorant 
priesthood, and the turbulence of a feudal nobility. 
The difference between these races and the fifth tribe 
of Indian warriors, will be at once apparent. The Sikh 
looks before him only, the ductility of his youthful in¬ 
tellect readily receives the most useful impression, or 
takes the most advantageous form, and religious faith 
is ever present to sustain him under any adversity, and 
to assure him of an ultimate triumph. 

The Rajpoot and Puthan will fight as Pirthee Raee 
and Jenghiz Khan waged war; they will ride on horses 
in tumultuous array, and they will wield a sword and 
spear with individual dexterity : but neither of these 
cavaliers will deign to stand in regular ranks and to 
handle the musket of the infantry soldier, although the 
Mahometan has always been a brave and skilful server 
of heavy cannon. The Mabratta is equally averse to 
the European system of warfare, and the less stiffened 
Goorkha has only had the power or the opportunity of 
forming battalions of footmen, unsupported by an active 
cavalry and a trained artillery. The early force of the 
Sikhs was composed of horsemen, but they seem in¬ 
tuitively to have adopted the new and formidable match¬ 
lock of recent times, instead of their ancestral bows, 
and the spear common to every nation. Mr. Forster 
noticed this peculiarity in 1783, and the advantage it 
gave in desultory warfare. # In 1805, Sir John Mal¬ 
colm did not think the Sikh was better mounted than 
the Mahratta t; but, in 1810, Sir David Ochterloney 
considered that, in the confidence of untried strength, 
his great native courage would show him more formi¬ 
dable than a follower of Sindhia or Holkar, and readily 

| Malcolm’s Sketch of the Sikhs, 
p. 150, 151. 


* Forster, Travels, i. 332. 


Chap. VI.] 


TIIE SIKII ARMY. 


175 


lead him to face a battery of well served guns.* The 
peculiar arm of the contending nations of the last cen¬ 
tury passed into a proverb, and the phrase, the Mah- 
ratta spear, the Afghan sword, the Sikh matchlock, 
and the English cannon, is still of common repetition ; 
nor does it gratify the pride of the present masters of 
India, to hear their success attributed rather to the 
number and excellence of their artillery, than to that 
dauntless courage and firm array which have enabled 
the humble footmen to win most of those distant vic¬ 
tories which add glory to the English name. Never¬ 
theless it has always been the object of rival powers to 
obtain a numerous artillery; the battalions of De Boigne 
would never separate themselves from their cannon, and 
the presence of that formidable arm is yet, perhaps, 
essential to the full confidence of the British Sepov.t 
Runjeet Singh said that, in 1805, he went to see the 
order of Lord Lake’s army t, and it is known that in 
1809 he admired and praised the discipline of Mr. 
Metcalfe’s small escort, which repulsed the sudden onset 
of a body of enraged Akalees.§ He began, after that 
period, to give his attention to the formation of regular 
infantry, and in 1812 Sir David Ochterloney saw two 
regiments of Sikhs, besides several of Hindostanees, 


* Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 1st Dec., 1810. 

f This feeling is well known to 
all who have had any experience of 
Indian troops. A gunner is a 
prouder man than a musketeer: 
when battalions are mutinous, they 
will not allow strangers to approach 
their guns, and the best dispositioned 
regiments will scarcely leave them in 
the rear to go into action unencum¬ 
bered, an instance of which hap¬ 
pened in Perron’s warfare with George 
Thomas. ( Major Smith's regular Corps 
in Indian Employ, p. 24.) 

The ranks of the British army 
are indeed filled with Rajpoots and 
Puthans so called, and also with 
Brahmins ; but nearly all are from 
the provinces of the Upper Ganges, 


the inhabitants of which have become 
greatly modified in character by 
complete conquest and mixture with 
strangers; and, while they retain 
some of the distinguishing marks 
of their races, they are, as sol¬ 
diers, the merest mercenaries, and do 
not possess the ardent and restless 
feeling, or that spirit of clanship, 
which characterise the more genuine 
descendants of Kshutreesand Afghans. 
The remarks in the text thus refer 
especially to the Puthans of Rohil- 
khund and Hurreeana and similar 
scattered colonies, and to the yeo¬ 
manry and little proprietors of Raj- 
pootana. 

j Moor croft, Travels, i. 102. 

§ Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 68. 


1822. 

v — v .-> 

Charac¬ 
teristic arms 
of different 
races, in¬ 
cluding the 
English. 

The general 
importance 
given to 
artillery by 
the Indians, 
a conse¬ 
quence of 
the victo¬ 
ries of the 
English. 


Runjeet 
Singh la¬ 
bors to 
introduce 
discipline ; 



176 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1820. 


and at 
length fully 
succeeds in 
making the 
Sikhs regu¬ 
lar infantry 
and artillery 
soldiers. 


European 

discipline 


drilled by men who had resigned or deserted the British 
service. # The next year the Muharaja talked of raising 
twenty-five battalions t, and his confidence in discipline 
was increased by the resistance which the Goorkhas 
offered to the British arms. He enlisted people of that 
nation, but his attention was chiefly given to the in¬ 
struction of his own countrymen, and in 18£0 Mr. 
Moorcroft noticed with approbation the appearance of 
the Sikh foot soldier, t Runjeet Singh had not got 
his people to resign their customary weapons and order 
of battle without some trouble. He encouraged them 
by good pay, by personal attention to their drill and 
equipment, and by himself wearing the strange dress, 
and going through the formal exercise. § The old 
chiefs disliked the innovation, and Dehsa Singh Mujee- 
theea, the father of the present mechanic and discipli¬ 
narian Lehna Singh, assured the companions of Mr. 
Moorcroft, that Mooltan, and Peshawur, and Cashmeer, 
had all been won by the free Khalsa cavalier. || By de¬ 
grees the infantry service came to be preferred, and, 
before Runjeet Singh died, he saw it regarded as the 
proper warlike array of his people. Nor did they give 
their heart to the musket alone, but were perhaps more 
readily brought to serve guns than to stand in even ranks 
as footmen. 

Such was the state of change of the Sikh army, and 


* Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 27th Feb., 1812. 

f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern¬ 
ment, 4th March, 1813. 

t Moorcroft, Travels, i. 98. There 
were at that time, as there are still, 
Goorkhas in the service of Lahore 
§ The author owes this anecdote 
to Moonshee Shahamut Alee, other¬ 
wise favorably known to the public 
by his book on the Sikhs and Af¬ 
ghans. 

|| Moorcroft, Travels, i. 98. — 
[Runjeet Singh usually required his 
feudatories to provide for constant ser¬ 
vice, a horseman for every 500 rupees 


which they held in land, besides being 
ready with other fighting-men on an 
emergency. This proportion left the 
Jagheerdar one half only of his estate 
untaxed, as an efficient horseman cost 
about 250 rupees annually. The 
Turks (Ranke’s Ottoman Empire, In- 
trod., p. 5., ed. 1843) required a 
horseman for the first 3000 aspers, or 
50 dollars, or say 1 25 rupees, and an 
additional one for every other 5000 
aspers, or 208 rupees. In England, 
in the 17th century, a horseman was 
assessed on every five hundred pounds 
of income. ( Macaulay’s Hist, of Eng¬ 
land, i. 291.)] 



Chap. VI.] 


177 


RUNJEET SINGH’S FAMILY. 


such were the views of Runjeet Singh, when Generals 
Allard and Ventura obtained service in the Punjab. 
They were fortunate in having an excellent material to 
work with, and, like skilful officers, they made a good 
use of their means and opportunities. They gave a 
moderate degree of precision and completeness to a 
system already introduced; but their labors are more 
conspicuous in French words of command, in treble 
ranks, and in squares salient with guns, than in the 
ardent courage, the alert obedience, and the long en¬ 
durance of fatigue, which distinguished the Sikh horse¬ 
men sixty years ago, and which preeminently charac¬ 
terise the Sikh footman of the present day among the 
other soldiers of India.* Neither did Generals Ven¬ 
tura and Allard, Court and Avitabile, ever assume to 
themselves the merit of having created the Sikh army, 
and perhaps their ability and independence of character 
added rrvpre to the general belief in European supe¬ 
riority, than all their instructions to the real efficiency 
of the Sikhs as soldiers. 

When a boy, Runjeet Singh was betrothed, as has been 
related, to Mehtab Kour, the daughter of Goorbukhsh 
Singh, the young heir of the Kuneia (or Ghunnee) chief- 
ship, who fell in battle with his father Muha Singh. 


1820 . 


introduced 
into the 
Punjab be¬ 
fore the ar¬ 
rival of 
French 
officers; 
whose ser¬ 
vices were 
yet of value 
to Runjeet 
Singh, and 
honorable 
to them¬ 
selves. 


Runjeet 
Singh’s 
marriages 
and family 
relations. 


* For notices of this endurance of 
fatigue, see Forster, Travels, i. 332, 
333. ; Malcolm, Sketch, p. 141. ; Mr. 
Masson, Journeys, i. 433., and Col. 
Stein bach, Punjab, p. 63, 64. 

The general constitution of a Sikh 
regiment was a commandant and ad¬ 
jutant, with subordinate officers to 
each company. The men were paid 
by deputies of the “ Bukhshee,” or 
paymaster; but the rolls were checked 
by “ Mootsuddees,” or clerks, who 
daily noted down whether the men 
were absent or present. To each 
regiment at least one “ Grunt’hee,” 
or reader of the scriptures, was at¬ 
tached, who, when not paid by the 
government, was sure of being sup¬ 
ported by the men. The Grunt’h 


was usually deposited near the 
“jhunda,” or flag, which belonged 
to the regiment, and which repre¬ 
sented its head quarters. Light 
tents and beasts of burden were al¬ 
lowed in fixed proportions to each 
battalion, and the state also provided 
two cooks, or rather bakers, for each 
company, who baked the men’s cakes 
after they had themselves kneaded 
them, or who, in some instances, 
provided unleavened loaves for those 
of their own or an inferior race. In 
cantonments the Sikh soldiers lived 
to some extent in barracks, and not 
each man in a separate hut, a custom 
which should be introduced into 
the British service. 


N 



178 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1807— 

1820. 


His wife, 

Mehtab 
Kour, and 
mother-in- 
law, Sudda 
Kour. 


Sher Singh 
and Tara 
Singh, the 
declared 
sons of 
Mehtab 
Koui’, not 
fully recog¬ 
nised, 1807. 


Sudda 
Kour’s vex¬ 
ation of 
spirit and 
hostile 
views, 

1810. 


Sudda Kour, the mother of the girl, possessed a high 
spirit and was ambitious of power, and, on the death of 
the Kuneia leader, Jaee Singh, about 1793, her influence 
in the affairs of the confederacy became paramount. 
She encouraged her young son-in-law to set aside the 
authority of his own widow mother, and at the age of 
seventeen the future Muharaja is not only said to have 
taken upon himself the management of his affairs, but 
to have had his mother put to death as an adultress. 
The support of Sudda Kour was of great use to Runjeet 
Singh in the beginning of his career, and the co-opera¬ 
tion of the Kuneia Misl mainly enabled him to master 
Lahore and Amritsir. Her hope seems to have been 
that, as the grandmother of the chosen heir of Runjeet 
Singh, and as a chieftainess in her own right, she would 
he able to exercise a commanding influence in the affairs 
of the Sikhs ; but her daughter was childless, and Run¬ 
jeet Singh himself was equally able and wary. In 
1807 it was understood that Mehtab Kour was preg¬ 
nant, and it is believed that she was really delivered of 
a daughter ; but, on Runjeet Singh’s return from an 
expedition, he was presented with two boys as his 
offspring. The Muharaja doubted : and perhaps he 
always gave credence to the report that Slier Singh 
was the son of a carpenter, and Tara Singh the child 
of a weaver, yet they continued to be brought up under 
the care of their reputed grandmother, as if their 
parentage had been admitted. But Sudda Kour per¬ 
ceived that she could obtain no power in the names of the 
children, and the disappointed woman addressed the En¬ 
glish authorities in 1810, and denounced her son-in-law 
as having usurped her rights, and as resolved on war 
with his new allies. Her communications received some 
attention, but she was unable to organize an insurrection, 
and she became in a manner reconciled to her position. 
In 1820, Sher Singh was virtually adopted by the 
Muharaja, with the apparent object of finally setting 


Chap. VI.] RUNJEET SINGH’S FAILINGS. 


179 


aside the power of his mother-in-law. She was re¬ 
quired to assign half of the lands of the Kuneia chief- 
ship for the maintenance of the youth ; but she refused, 
and she w T as in consequence seized and imprisoned, and 
her whole possessions confiscated. The little estate of 
Whudnee, to the south of the Sutlej, was however re¬ 
stored to her through British intervention, as has al¬ 
ready been mentioned.* 

Runjeet Singh was also betrothed, when a boy, to 
the daughter of Khuzan Singh, a chief of the Nukeia 
confederacy, and by her he had a son in the year 1802, 
who was named Khurruk Singh, and brought up as 
his heir. The youth was married, in the year 1812, 
to the daughter of a Kuneia leader, and the nuptials 
were celebrated amid many rejoicings. In 1816 the 
Muharaja placed the mother under some degree of 
restraint owing to her mismanagement of the estates 
assigned for the maintenance of the prince, and he en¬ 
deavored to rouse the spirit of his son to exertion 
and enterprize ; hut he was of a weak and indolent 
character, and the attempt was vain. In the year 1821 
a son was born to Khurruk Singh, and the child, Nao 
Nihal Singh, soon came to be regarded as the heir of the 
Punjab, t 

Such were the domestic relations of Runjeet Singh, 
hut he shared largely in the opprobrium heaped upon 
his countrymen as the practisers of every immorality, 
and he is not only represented to have frequently in¬ 
dulged in strong drink, but to have occasionally out¬ 
raged decency by appearing in public inebriated, and 
surrounded with courtezans, t In his earlier days one 
of these women, named Mohra, obtained a great ascen¬ 
dancy over him, and, in 1811, he caused coins or medals 
to be struck bearing her name; but it would be idle to 


1802— 

1821. 


Khurruk 
Singh born 
to Runjeet 
Singh by 
another 
wife, 1802. 


Nao Nihal 
Singh born 
to Khurruk 
Singh, 

1821. 

Runjeet 
Singh’s per¬ 
sonal licen¬ 
tiousness 
and intem¬ 
perance, in 
connection 
with the 
vices vague¬ 
ly attri¬ 
buted to the 
mass of the 
Sikh people. 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh , | Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 

pp. 46—51. 63. 127, 128. 134, pp. 48. 53. 90, 91. 112. 129. 

135. See also Sir D. Ochterloney to f Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
Government, 1st and 10th Dec. 1810, p. 85. 
and p. 162. of this volume. 


180 


HISTORY OF THE SIKIIS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1802— 
1821. 
i__ — 1 


regard Runjeet Singh as an habitual drunkard or as 
one greatly devoted to sensual pleasures ; and it would 
be equally unreasonable to believe the mass of the Sikh 
people as wholly lost to shame, and as revellers in every 
vice which disgraces humanity. Doubtless the sense 
of personal honor and of female purity, is less high 
among the rude and ignorant of every age, than among 
the informed and the civilized; and when the whole 
peasantry of a country suddenly attain to power and 
wealth, and are freed from many of the restraints of 
society, an unusual proportion will necessarily resign 
themselves to the seductions of pleasure, and freely give 
way to their most depraved appetites. But such ex¬ 
cesses are nevertheless exceptional to the general usage, 
and those who vilify the Sikhs at one time, and de¬ 
scribe their long and rapid marches at another, should 
remember the contradiction, and reflect that what com¬ 
mon sense and the better feelings of our nature have 
always condemned, can never be the ordinary practice 
of a nation. The armed defenders of a country cannot 
be kept under the same degree of moral restraint as 
ordinary citizens, with quiet habits, fixed abodes, and 
watchful pastors, and it is illogical to apply the character 
of a few dissolute chiefs and licentious soldiers to the 
thousands of hardy peasants and industrious mechanics, 
and even generally to that body of brave and banded 
men which furnishes the most obvious examples of de¬ 
gradation.*' The husbandman of the Punjab, as of 
other provinces in Upper India, is confined to his 
cakes of millet or wheat and to a draught of water 

* Colonel Steinl>ach( Punjab, p. 76, The morals, or the manners, of a 
77.) admits genera 1 , simplicity of diet; people, however, should not be de¬ 
but he also makes some revolting duced from a few examples of pro¬ 
practices universal. Capt. Murray fligacy; but the Indians equally ex- 
( Runjeet Singh, p. 85.), and Mr. Mas- aggerate with regard to Europeans, 
son (Journeys, i. 435.), are likewise and, in pictorial or pantomimic pieces, 
somewhat sweeping in their con- they usually represent Englishmen 
demnations, and even Mr. Elphin- drinking and swearing in the society 
stone ( Hist. of India, ii. 565.) makes of courtezans, and as equally prompt 
the charge of culpable devotion to to use their weapons with or without 
sensual pleasures very comprehensive, a reason. 



Chap. VI.] RUNJEET SINGIl’s FAVORITES. 


181 


from the well ; the soldier fares not much better, and 
neither indulge in strong liquors, except upon occasions 
of rejoicing. The indolent man of wealth or station, 
or the more idle religious fanatic, may seek excitement, 
or a refuge from the vacancy of his mind, in drugs and 
drink ; but expensiveness of diet is rather a Mahometan 
than an Indian characteristic, and the Europeans carry 
their potations and the pleasures of the table to an 
excess unknown to the Turk and Persian, and which 
greatly scandalize the frugal Hindoo.* 

Yet Runjeet Singh not only yielded more than was 
becoming to the promptings of his appetites, but, like 
all despots and solitary authorities, he laid himself open 
to the charge of extravagant partiality and favoritism. 
He had placed himself in some degree in opposition to 
the whole Sikh people; the free followers of Govind 
could not be the observant slaves of an equal member 
of the Khalsa, and he sought for strangers whose ap¬ 
plause would be more ready if less sincere, and in 
whom he could repose some confidence as the creatures 
of his favor. The first who thus rose to distinction 
was Khooshhal Singh, a Brahmin from near Seharun- 
poor, who enlisted in one of the first raised regiments, 
and next became a runner or footman on the Muharaja’s 
establishment. He attracted Runjeet Singh’s notice, 
and was made Jemadar of the Deeoree, or master of 
the entry, about the year 1811. His brother seemed 
likely to supplant him, but his refusal to become a Sikh 
favored Khooshhal Singh’s continuance in power, until 
both yielded to the Jummoo Rajpoots in the year 1820. 
Golab Singh, the eldest of three sons, claimed that his 
grandfather was the brother of the well known Runjeet 


* Forster ( Travels, i. 333.) notices 
the temperance of the Sikhs, and 
their forbearance from many ener¬ 
vating sensual pleasures, and he 
quotes, he thinks, Colonel Polier to 
a similar effect. Malcolm ( Sketch , 
p. 141.) likewise describes the Sikhs 

N 


as hardy and simple ; but, doubtless, 
as the power of the nation has in¬ 
creased since these times, luxuries 
and vicious pleasures have, in nume¬ 
rous instances, followed wealth and 
indolence. 

3 


1802— 

1821. 

■ i 




Runjeet 
Singh’s fa¬ 
vorites. 


Khooshhal 
Singh a 
Brahmin, 
1811-20. 


The Raj¬ 
poots of 
Jummoo, 
1820. 


0 



mz 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VI. 


1802— 

1821. 


Runjeet 

Singh’s 

chosen 

servants. 

Eukeer 

Uzeezood- 

deen. 


Deo ; but the family was perhaps illegitimate, and had 
become impoverished, and Golab Singh took service as 
a horseman in a band commanded by Jemadar Khoosh- 
hal Singh. He sent for his second brother, Dhian 
Singh, and then, again like the reigning favorite, they 
both became running footmen under Runjeet Singh’s 
eye. Their joint assiduity, and the graceful hearing of 
the younger man, again attracted the Muharaja’s notice, 
and Dhian Singh speedily took the place of the Brah¬ 
min chamberlain, without, however, consigning him to 
neglect, for he retained his estates and his position as a 
noble. Golab Singh obtained a petty command and 
signalized himself by the seizure of the turbulent Ma¬ 
hometan Chief of Rajaoree. Jummoo was then con¬ 
ferred in jagheer or fief upon the family, and the 
youngest brother, Soochet Singh, as well as the two 
elder, were one by one raised to the rank of Raja, and 
rapidly obtained an engrossing and prejudicial influence 
in the counsels of the Muharaja, excepting, perhaps, in 
connection with his English relations, the importance of 
which required and obtained the exercise of his own 
unbiassed opinion. The smooth and crafty Golab Singh 
ordinarily remained in the hills, using Sikh means to 
extend his own authority over his brother Rajpoots, and 
eventually into Ludakh; the less able, but more polished, 
Dhian Singh, remained continually in attendance upon 
the Muharaja, ever on the watch, in order that he might 
anticipate his wishes; while the elegant Soochet Singh 
fluttered as a gay courtier and gallant soldier, without 
grasping at power or creating enemies. The nominal 
fukeer or devotee, the Mahometan Uzeezooddeen, never 
held the place of an ordinary favorite, but he attached 
himself at an early period to Runjeet Singh’s person, 
and was honored and trusted as one equally prudent 
and faithful; and, during the ascendancy both of Khoosh- 
hal Singh and Dhian Singh, he was always consulted, 
and invariably made the medium of communication with 
the British authorities. The above were the most con- 


c 


Chap. VI.] 


RUNJEET SINGH’S SERVANTS. 


183 


spicuous persons in the Lahore court; but the mind of 
Runjeet Singh was never prostrate before that of others, 
and he conferred the government of Mooltan on the 
discreet Sawun Mull, and rewarded the military talents 
and genuine Sikh feelings of Hurree Singh Nulwa by 
giving him the command on the Peshawur frontier ; 
while his ancient companion, Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea, 
remained, with increased wealth, the only representative 
of the original “ Misls,” and Dehsa Singh Mujeetheea 
enjoyed the Muharaja’s esteem and confidence as go¬ 
vernor of Amritsir and of the Jalundhur Dooab. # 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
p. 84. 113. 125. 147.; Moonshee 
Shahamut Alee’s Sikhs and Afghans, 
ch. iv. and vii.; and, with regard to 
Uzeezooddeen and Dehsa Singh, 
see Moorcroft, Travels, i. 94. 98. 
110 , &c. Lieut. Colonel Lawrence’s 
work, The Adventurer in the Pun¬ 
jab, and Capt. Osborne’s Court and 
Camp of Runjeet Singh, likewise 
contain some curious information 
about the Maharaja’s chiefs and 
favorites; and the author has had 


the further advantage of referring 
to a memorandum on the subject, 
drawn up by Mr. Clerk for Lord 
Ellenborough. Mohkum Chund has 
already been alluded to (see antb, 
p. 136.), and the Brahmin Deewan 
Chund may also be mentioned. He 
was the real commander when Mool¬ 
tan was stormed, and he led the 
advance when Cashmeer was at last 
seized. Of genuine Sikhs, too, Mit’h 
Singh Behraneea was distinguished 
as a brave and generous soldier. 


1802— 

1821. 
t - - l 

Deewan 

Sawun 

Mull. 

Hurree 

Singh 

Nulwa. 

Futteh 
Singh Al¬ 
hoowaleea. 

Dehsa 
Singh Mu¬ 
jeetheea. 


N 4 



184 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


CHAPTER VII. 

FROM THE ACQUISITION OF MOOLTAN, CASHMEER, AND 
PESHAWUR, TO THE DEATH OF RUNJEET SINGH. 

1824 — 1839 . 

Changed relations of the English and Sikhs. — Mis¬ 
cellaneous transactions. — Capt. Wade, the political 
agent for Sikh affairs . — The Jummoo Rajas. — Sped 
Ahmed Shah's insurrection at Peshawur .— The fame 
of Runjeet Singh. — The meeting at Rooper with Lord 
William Bentinck. — Runjeet Singh's views on Sindh, 
and the English scheme of navigating the Indus. ■— Shah 
Shooja's expedition of 1833-35* and Runjeet Singh's 
regular occupation of Peshawur. — Ludakh reduced by 
Raja Golab Singh. — Runjeet Singh's claims on Shi- 
kdrpoor and designs on Sindh crossed by the commercial 
policy of the English. — The connection of the English 
with the Barukzaees of Afghanistan. — Dost Mahomed 
retires before Runjeet Singh. — The Sikhs defeated by the 
Afghans. — The marriage of Nao Nihal Singh. — Sir 
Henry Fane. — The English, Dost Mahomed, and the 
Russians, and the restoration of Shah Shooja. — Run¬ 
jeet Singh feels curbed by the English. — The death of 
Runjeet Singh. 

1823 . Runjeet Singh had brought Peshawur under his 
change in sway, but the complete reduction of the province was 

of^h^s'khs y et t0 C0St an ar( ^ uous war f ar e of many years, 
relatively to He had become master of the Punjab almost unheeded 
after E the liSh English ; but the position and views of that 

year 1823 . people had changed since they asked his aid against the 
armies of Napoleon. The Jumna and the sea-coast of 
Bombay were no longer the proclaimed limits of their 
empire ; the Nerbudda had been crossed, the states of 


Chap. VII.] MISCELLANEOUS TRANSACTIONS. 


185 


Rajpootana had been rendered tributary, and, with the 
laudable design of diffusing wealth and of linking 
remote provinces together in the strong and useful 
bonds of commerce, they were about to enter upon 
schemes of navigation and of trade, which caused them 
to deprecate the ambition of the king of the Sikhs, and 
led them, by sure yet unforeseen steps, to absorb his 
dominion in their own, and to grasp, perhaps in¬ 
scrutably to chasten, with the cold .unfeeling hand of 
worldly rule, the youthful spirit of social change and 
religious reformation evoked by the genius of Nanuk 
and Govind. 

In the year 1824, the turbulent Mahometan tribes 
on either side of the Indus above Attok arose in rebel¬ 
lion, and the Sikh general, Hurree Singh, received a 
severe check. The Muharaja hastened by forced 
marches to that quarter, and again forded the rapid, 
stony-bedded Indus ; hut the mountaineers dispersed at 
his approach, and his display of power was hardly 
rewarded by Yar Mahomed Khan’s renewed protest¬ 
ations of allegiance.* In 1825 Runjeet Singh’s atten¬ 
tion was amused with overtures from the Goorkhas, 
who forgot his former rivalry in the overwhelming 
greatness of the English ; but the precise object of the 
Nepalese did not transpire, and the restless spirit of 
the Sikh chief soon led him to the Chenab, with the 
design of seizing Shikarpore.t The occurrence of a 
scarcity in Sindh, and perhaps the rumors of the 
hostile preparations of the English against Bhurtpoor, 
induced him to return to his capital before the end of 
the year. The Jdt usurper of the Jumna asked his 
brother Jut of the Ravee to aid him ; but the Muha¬ 
raja affected to discredit the mission, and so satisfied 
the British authorities without compromising himself 
with the master of a fortress which had successfully 


1824,1825. 


Miscella¬ 
neous trans¬ 
actions, 
1824-25. 


Peshawur. 


Nepal. 


Sindh. 


Bhurtpoor. 


* Capt. Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 18th March, 1825, and Capt. Murray 
p. 141, 142. in reply, 28th March. Compare 

f Agent at Delhi to Capt. Murray, also Murray’s Runjeet Singh , p, 144. 


186 


HISTOKY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1826. 


Futteh 
Singh the 
Alhoowa- 
leea chief. 


Runjeet 
Singh falls 
sick, and is 
attended by 
an English 
surgeon, 
1826. 


Anecdotes. 


resisted the disciplined troops and the dreaded artillery 
of his neighbors.* But about the same time Runjeet 
Singh likewise found reason to distrust the possessors 
of strongholds; and Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea was 
constrained by his old brother in arms to leave a 
masonry citadel unfinished, and was farther induced by 
his own fears to fly to the south of the Sutlej. He was 
assured of English protection in his ancestral estates in 
the Sirhind province, but Runjeet Singh, remembering 
perhaps the joint treaty with Lord Lake, earnestly en¬ 
deavored to allay the fears of the fugitive, and to recall 
a chief so dangerous in the hands of his allies. Futteh 
Singh returned to Lahore in 1827 ? he was received 
with marked honor, and he was confirmed in nearly all 
his possessions, t 

Towards the end of 1826, Runjeet Singh was at¬ 
tacked with sickness, and he sought the aid of European 
skill. Dr. Murray, a surgeon in the British-Indian 
army, was sent to attend him, and he remained at 
Lahore for some time, although the Muharaja was more 
disposed to trust to time and abstinence, or to the em¬ 
pirical remedies of his own physicians, than to the pre¬ 
scribes of unknown drugs and the practisers of new 
ways. Runjeet Singh, nevertheless, liked to have his 
foreign medical adviser near him, as one from whom 
information could be gained, and whom it might be 
advantageous to please. He seemed anxious about the 
proposed visit of Lord Amherst, the Governor General, 


* Capt. Murray to the Resident at 
Delhi, 1st and 3d Oct., 1825, and 
Capt. Wade to Capt. Murray, 5th 
Oct., 1825. [Capt. Wade, however, 
in the printed Narrative of his Ser¬ 
vices , p. 7., represents Runjeet Singh 
as pausing to take advantage of any 
disasters which might befall the En¬ 
glish. 

f Resident at Delhi to Capt. 
Murray, 13th Jan., 1826, and Capt. 
Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 144. 
The old chief had, as early as 1811, 
desired to be regarded as separately 
connected with the English, so fear¬ 


ful had he become of his “ Turban- 
brother.” (Government to Sir D. 
Ochterloney, 4th October, 1811.) 

The cis-Sutlej Mahometan Chief 
of Mumdot, formerly of Kussoor, 
fled and returned about the same 
time as Futteh Singh, for similar 
reasons, and after making similar en¬ 
deavors to be recognized as an 
English dependent. ( Government to 
Resident at Delhi, 28th April, 1827, 
with correspondence to which it re¬ 
lates, and compare Murray’s Runjeet 
Singh, p. 145.) 


Chap. VII.] 


CAPTAIN WADE. 


187 


to the northern provinces ; he asked about the qualities 
of the Burmese troops, and the amount of money 
demanded hy the English victors at the end of the war 
with that people ; he was inquisitive about the mutiny 
of a regiment of Sepoys at Barrackpoor, and he wished 
to know whether native troops had been employed in 
quelling it. # On the arrival of Lord Amherst at Sim- 
lah, in 18 ^ 7 > a further degree of intimacy became 
inevitable ; a mission of welcome and inquiry was sent 
to wait upon his lordship, and the compliment was 
returned by the deputation of Captain Wade, the 
British frontier authority, to the Muharaja’s court, t 
During the following year the English Commander-in- 
Chief arrived at Loodiana, and Runjeet Singh sent an 
agent to convey to him his good wishes ; but an 
expected invitation to visit the strongholds of the Punjab 
was not given to the captor of Bhurtpoor. t 

The little business to be transacted between the Bri¬ 
tish and Sikh governments was entrusted to the manage¬ 
ment of the Resident at Delhi, who gave his orders to 
Captain Murray, the political agent at Ambala, who 
again had under him an assistant, Captain Wade, at 
Loodiana, mainly in connection with the affairs of the 


1827. 


Lord Am¬ 
herst, the 
British Go¬ 
vernor 
General, 


1827. 


Lord Com- 
bermere, 
the British 
Command¬ 
er-in-Chief. 


Capt. Wade 
made the 
immediate 
agent for 
the affairs 
of Lahore, 
1827. 


* Capt. Wade to the Resident at 
Delhi, 24th Sept, and 30th Nov., 
1826, and 1st Jan. 1827. Compare 
Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 145. 

-j- Government to Capt. Wade, 2d 
May, 1827. 

| Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 147. 
About this time the journeyings and 
studies of the enthusiastic scholar 
Csoma de Koros, and the establish¬ 
ment of Simlah as a British post, had 
made the Chinese of Tibet as curious 
about the English in one way as 
Runjeet Singh was in another. 
Thus the authorities at Garo appear 
to have addressed the authorities of 
Bissehir, an English dependency, 
saying, “ that in ancient times there 
“ was no mention of the ‘ Feelingpa,’ 
(i. e. Feringhees or Franks), “ a bad 
“ and small people, whereas now many 


“ visited the upper countries every year, 
“ and had caused the chief of Bissehir 
“to make preparations for their move- 
“ ments. The Great Lama was dis¬ 
pleased, and armies had been ordered 
“ to be watchful. The English should 
“ be urged to keep within their own 
“ limits, or, if they wanted an alliance, 
“ they could go by sea to Pekin. The 
“ people of Bissehir should not rely on 
“the wealth and the expertness in 
“warfaring of the English: the empe- 
“rorwas 30 puktsut (120miles) higher 
“ than they ; he ruled over the four 
“ elements ; a war would involve the 
“ six nations of Asia in calamities; the 
“ English should remain within their 
“ boundaries —and so on, in a strain 
of deprecation and hyperbole. (Poli¬ 
tical Agent Subathoo to Resident at 
Delhi, 26th March, 1827.) 





188 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1827,1828. garrison of that place. When Captain Wade was at 
' Lahore, the Maharaja expressed a wish that, for the 
sake of despatch in business, the agency for his Cis- 
Sutlej possessions should he vested in the officer at 
Loodiana subordinate to the resident at Delhi, but in¬ 
dependent of the officer at Ambala. # This wish was 
complied witht; hut in attempting to define the extent 
of the territories in question, it was found that there 
Discussions were several doubtful points to he settled. Runjeet 
todistricts^ Singh claimed supremacy over Chumkowr, and Anund- 
southofthe poor Makhowal, and other places belonging to the 
1827 - 28 . Sddhees, or collateral representatives of Gooroo Go- 
Anundpoor, vind. He also claimed Whudnee, which, a few years 
Feerozpoor before, had been wrested from him on the plea that it 
&c. was his mother-in-law’s; and he claimed Feerozpoor, 

then held by a childless widow, and also all the Alhoo- 
waleea districts, besides others which need not be 
particularized, t The claims of the Muharaja over Fee¬ 
rozpoor and the ancestral possessions of Futteh Singh 
Alhoowaleea were rejected; hut the British title to 
supremacy over Whudnee could no longer, it was found, 
he maintained. The claims of Lahore to Chumkowr 
and Anundpoor Makhowal were expediently admitted, 
for the British right did not seem worth maintaining, 
and the affairs of the priestly class of Sikhs could be 
best managed by a ruler of their own faith. § Runjeet 
Singh disliked the loss of Feerozpoor, which the English 
long continued to admire as a commanding position ||; 


* Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, 
20 th June, 1827. 

•f Governmentto Resident at Delhi, 
4th Oct., 1827. 

J Capt. Wade to the Resident at 
Delhi, 20th Jan., 1828, and Capt. 
Murray to the same, 19th Feb. 1828. 

In the case of Feerozpoor, Govern¬ 
ment subsequently decided (Govern¬ 
ment to Agent at Delhi, 24th Nov., 
1838), that certain collateral heirs 
(who had put in a claim) could not 
succeed, as, according to Hindoo law 


and Sikh usage, no right of descent ex¬ 
isted after a division had taken place. 
So uncertain, however, is the prac¬ 
tice of the English, that one or more 
precedents in favour of the Feerozpoor 
claimants might readily be found 
within the range of cases connected 
with the Sikh states. 

§ Government to the Resident at 
Delhi, 14th Nov., 1828. 

|| In 1823 Capt. Murray talked of 
the “strong and important fortress” 
of Feerozpoor having been recovered 


Chap. VII.] 


THE JUMMOO RAJAS. 


189 


but the settlement generally was such as seemed to 1828. 
lessen the chances of future collision between the two y * 
governments. 

Runjeet Singh’s connection with the English thus Gradual 
became more and more close, and about the same time 
lie began to resign himself in many instances to the Singh, his 
views of his new favorites of Jummoo. The Muharaja a^Msson, 
had begun to notice the boyish promise of Heera Singh, 1820 - 28 . 
the son of Dhian Singh, and he may have been equally 
pleased with the native simplicity, and with the tutored 
deference, of the child. He gave him the title of Raja, 
and his father, true to the Indian feeling, was desirous 
of establishing the purity of his descent by marrying his 
son into a family of local power and of spotless gene¬ 
alogy. The betrothal of a daughter of the deceased proposed 
Sunsar Chund of Kanggra was demanded in the year ^™ age of 
1828, and the reluctant consent of the new chief, Un- singh into 
rodh Chund, was obtained when he unwittingly had put ^family 
himself wholly in the power of Dhian Singh by visiting chund, 
Lahore with his sisters for the purpose of joining in 1828, 
the nuptial ceremonies of the son of Futteh Singh Al- 
hoowaleea. The proposed degradation rendered the 
mother of the girls more indignant perhaps than the 
head of the family, and she contrived to escape with Flight of 
them to the south of the Sutlej. Unrodh Chund was fund's 
required to bring them back, but he himself also fled, widow and 
and his possessions were seized. The mother died of son * 
grief and vexation, and the son followed her to the 
grave, after idly attempting to induce the English to re¬ 
store him by force of arms to his little principality. 

Sunsar Chund had left several illegitimate children, and 
in 1829, the disappointed Muharaja endeavoured to ob¬ 
tain some revenge by marrying two of the daughters 
himself, and by elevating a son to the rank of Raja, 

by Runjeet Singh, for the widow pro- larly talked ( Government to Agent 
prietress from whom it had been seized at Delhi, 30th Jan., 1824) of the 
by a claimant (Captain Murray to the political and military advantages of 
Agent at Delhi, 20th July, 1823), Feerozpoor over Loodiana. 
and the supreme authorities simi- 


190 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. YII. 


1829. 


Raja Heera 
Singh’s 
marriage, 
1829. 


Insurrec¬ 
tion at 
Peshawur 
under Syed 
Ahmed 
Shah Gha- 
zee, 1827. 
History of 
the Syed. 


His doc¬ 
trines of 
religious 
reform. 


and investing" him with an estate out of his father’s 
chiefship. The marriage of Heera Singh to a maiden 
of his own degree, was celebrated during the same year 
with much splendor, and the greatness of Runjeet 
Singh’s name induced even the chiefs living under 
British protection to offer their congratulations and 
their presents on the occasion. # 

In the meanwhile a formidable insurrection had been 
organized in the neighborhood of Peshawur, by an un¬ 
heeded person and in an unlooked-for manner. One 
Ahmed Shah, a Mahometan of a family of Syeds of Ba¬ 
reilly in Upper India, had been a follower of the great 
mercenary leader, Ameer Khan, but he lost his employ¬ 
ment when the military force of his chief was broken up 
on the successful termination of the campaign against 
the joint Mahratta and Pindarra powers, and after Ameer 
Khan’s own recognition by the English as a dependent 
prince. The Syed went to Delhi, and a preacher of 
that city, named Abdool Uzeez, declared himself greatly 
edified by the superior sanctity of Ahmed, who de¬ 
nounced the corrupt forms of worship then prevalent, 
and endeavored to enforce attention to the precepts of 
the Koran alone, without reference to the expositions of 
the early fathers. His reputation increased, and two 
Molvees, Ismaeel and Abdool Haee, of some learning, 
but doubtful views, attached themselves to the Syed as 
his humble disciples and devoted followers.! A pil- 


* Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 147, 
148. and Resident at Delhi to Go¬ 
vernment, 28th Oct. 1828. 

f A book was composed by Molvee 
Ismaeel, on the part of Seyd Ahmed, in 
the Oordoo, or vernacular language of 
Upper India, at once exhortative and 
justificatory of his views. It is called 
the Tukveea-ool-Iman, or Basis of the 
Faith, and it was printed in Calcutta. 
It is divided into two portions, of 
which the first only is understood to 
be the work of Ismaeel, the second 
part being inferior, and the produc¬ 
tion of another person. 


In the preface the writer depre¬ 
cates the opinion “ that the wise and 
“ learned alone can comprehend God’s 
“ word. God himself had said a pro- 
“ phet had been raised up among the 
“ rude and ignorant for their instruc- 
“ tion, and that Hey the Lord, had 
“rendered obedience easy. There were 
“ two things essential: a belief in the 
“ unity of God, which was to know no 
“ other, and a knowledge of the Pro- 
“ phet, which was obedience tothelaw. 
“ Many held the sayings of the saints 
“ to be their guide ; but the word of 
“ God was alone to be attended to. 


Chap. VII.] 


SYED AHMED SHAH. 


191 


grim age was preached as a suitable beginning for all 1822 - 
undertakings, and Ahmed’s journey to Calcutta in 1822 . I8 ^ 6, . 
for the purpose of embarkation, was one of triumph, 
although his proceedings were little noticed until his 
presence in a large city gave him numerous congrega¬ 
tions. He set sail for Mecca and Medina, and he is ffispii- 
eommonly believed, but without reason, to have visited s nmage * 
Constantinople. After an absence of four years he re¬ 
turned to Delhi, and called upon the faithful to follow 
him in a war against infidels. He acted as if he 
meant by unbelievers the Sikhs alone, but his precise 
objects are imperfectly understood. He was careful 
not to offend the English; but the mere supremacy of 
a remote nation over a wide and populous country, gave 
him ample opportunities for unheeded agitation. In 
1826 he left Delhi with perhaps five hundred attendants, His journey 
and it was arranged that other bands should follow in ^pootana 
succession under appointed leaders. He made some and Sindh, 
stay at Tonk, the residence of his old master, Ameer 
Khan, and the son of the chief, the present Nuwab, wur. 
was enrolled among the disciples of the new saint. He 
obtained considerable assistance, at least in money, from 
the youthful convert, and he proceeded through the 
desert to Kheirpoor in Sindh, where he was well re¬ 
ceived by Meer Roostum Khan, and where he awaited 
the junction of the “ Ghazees,” or fighters for the faith, 
who were following him. Ahmed marched to Can- 


“ although the writings of the pious, 
“ which agreed with the Scriptures, 
“ might be read for edification.” 

The first chapter treats of the 
unity of God, and in it the writer 
deprecates the supplication of saints, 
angels, &c. as impious. He declares 
the reasons given for such worship to 
be futile, and to show an utter igno¬ 
rance of God’s word. “ The ancient 
“ idolaters had likewise said that they 
“ merely venerated powers and divini¬ 
ties, and did not regard them as the 
“ equal of the Almighty; but God 
“himself had answered these heathens. 


“ Likewise the Christians had been ad- 
“ monished for giving to dead monks 
“ and friars the honor due to the Lord. 
“ God is alone, and companion he has 
“none; prostration and adoration are 
“due to him, and to no other.” The 
writer proceeds in a similar strain, 
but assumes some doubtful positions, 
as that Mahomet says God is one, 
and man learns from his parents that 
he was born ; he believes his mother, 
and yet he distrusts the apostle: 
or that an evil-doer who has faith is 
a better man than the most pious 
idolater. 


192 


niSTORY OF THE SIKIIS. 


[Chav. YII. 


1827— dahar, but his projects were mistrusted or misunder- 
. lb ^ 9 ' , stood; he received no encouragement from the Barukzaee 
Rouses the brothers in possession, and he proceeded northward 
to U a°reH. eS through the Ghiljaee country, and in the beginning of 
giouswar. 1827 he crossed the Caubul river to Punjtar in the 
Eusofzaee hills, between Peshawur and the Indus.* 

Syed Ah- The Punjtar family is of some consequence among 
feus against warlike Eusofzaees, and as the tribe had become 
the Sikhs apprehensive of the designs of Yar Mahomed Khan, 
i 827 k ° ra ’ whose dependence on Runjeet Singh secured him from 
danger on the side of Caubul, the Syed and his “ Gha- 
zees” were hailed as deliverers, and the authority or 
supremacy of Ahmed was generally admitted. He led 
his ill-equipped host to attack a detachment of Sikhs, 
which had been moved forward to Akdra, a few miles 
above Attok, under the command of Boodh Singh Sind- 
hanwala, of the same family as the Muharaja. The 
Sikh commander entrenched his position, and repulsed 
the tumultuous assault of the mountaineers with con¬ 
siderable loss, but as he could not follow up his success, 
the fame and the strength of the Syed continued to in¬ 
crease, and Yar Mahomed deemed it prudent to enter 
into an agreement obliging him to respect the territories 
of the Eusofzaees. The curbed governor of Peshawur 
is accused of a base attempt to remove Ahmed by poi¬ 
son, and, in the year 1829, the fact or the report was 
made use of by the Syed as a reason for appealing to 


* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 
p. 145, 146. About Syed Ahmed, 
the author has learnt much from the 
“ Gbazee’s ” brother-in-law, and from 
a respectable Molvee, who likewise 
followed his fortunes, and both of 
whom are now in honorable em¬ 
ploy in the chiefship of Tonk. He 
has likewise learnt many particulars 
from Moonshee Shahamut Alee, and 
especially from Peer Ibrahim Khan, 
a straight-forward and intelligent 
Puthan of Kussoor, in the British 
service, who thinks Ahmed right, 
notwithstanding the holy neighbor¬ 


hood of Pakputtun, Mooltan, and 
Ootch 1 Indeed, most educated Ma¬ 
hometans admit the reasonableness of 
his doctrines, and the able Ilegent- 
Begum of Bhopal, is not indisposed 
to emulate the strictness of the Chief 
of Tonk, as an abhorrer of vain cere¬ 
monies. Among humbler people the 
Syed likewise obtained many admi¬ 
rers, and it is said that his exhortations 
generally were so efficacious, that even 
the tailors of Delhi were moved to 
scrupulously return remnants of cloth 
to their employers! 


Chap. VII.] SYED AHMED AT PESHAWUR. 


193 


arms. Yar Mahomed was defeated and mortally 1830 . 

wounded, and Peshawur was perhaps saved to his 1 -*-' 

brother, Sooltan Mahomed, by the presence of a Sikh yar m!?* 3 
force under the Prince Sher Singh and General Yen- homed, who 
tura, which had been moved to that quarter under pre- tounds hlS 
tence of securing for the Muharaja a long promised 1829. 
horse of famous breed named Leilee, the match of one 
of equal renown named Kuhhar, which Runjeet Singh 
had already prized himself on obtaining from the Ba- 
rukzaee brothers.* 

The Sikh troops withdrew to the Indus, leaving SyedAh- 
Sooltan Mahomed Khan and his brothers to guard their “osses^the 
fief or dependency as they could, and it would even Indus, 
seem that Runjeet Singh hoped the difficulties of their 1830 ’ 
position, and the insecurity of the province, would jus¬ 
tify its complete reduction.t But the influence of Syed 
Ahmed reached to Cashmeer, and the mountaineers be¬ 
tween that valley and the Indus were unwilling subjects 
of Lahore. Ahmed crossed the river in June, 1830, 
and planned an attack upon the Sikh force commanded 
by Hurree Singh Nulwa and General Allard; hut he He is com - 
was beaten off, and forced to retire to the west of the SreJ but rG " 
river. In a few months he was strong enough to at- falIs u P° n 
tack Sooltan Mahomed Khan; the Barukzaee was looitan 
defeated, and Peshawur was occupied by the Syed and Mahomed 
his “ Ghazees.” His elation kept pace with his sue- occupies 
cess, and, according to tradition, already busy with his Peshawur, 
career, he proclaimed himself Caliph, and struck a coin 
in the name of “ Ahmed the Just, the defender of the 
faith, the glitter of whose sword scattereth destruction 
among infidels.” The fall of Peshawur caused some 

* Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh, the Resident, Delhi, May 17th, 
p. 146. 149. The followers of Syed 1829.) 

Ahmed believe that poison was ad- f Capt. Wade to the Resident, 
ministered, and describe the “ Gha- Delhi, 13th Sept., 1830. The Muha- 
zee,” as suffering much from its raja also reserved a cause of quarrel 
effects. with the Barukzaees, on account of 

General Ventura at last succeeded their reduction of the Khuttuks, a 
in obtaining a Leilee, but that the tribe which Runjeet Singh said Fut- 
real horse, so named, was transferred, teh Khan, the Vuzeer, had agreed to 
is doubtful, and at one time it was leave independent. (Capt. Wade to 
declared to be dead. (Capt. Wade to Government, 9th Dec., 1831.) 


194 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1830,1831. alarm in Lahore, and the force on the Indus was 
The syed’s strengthened, and placed under the command of Prince 
influence Slier Singh. The petty Mahometan chiefs generally, 
decreases. w } 10m self-interest overcame faith, were averse to 

the domination of the Indian adventurer, and the im¬ 
prudence of Syed Ahmed gave umbrage to his Eu- 
sofzaee adherents. He had levied from the peasants 
a tithe of their goods, and this measure caused little or 
no dissatisfaction, for it agreed with their notion of the 
rights of a religious teacher ; but his decree that all the 
young women of marriageable age should be at once 
wedded, interfered with the profits of Afghan parents, 
proverbially avaricious, and who usually disposed of 
their daughters to the wealthiest bridegrooms. But 
when Syed Ahmed was accused, perhaps unjustly, of 
assigning the maidens one by one to his needy Indian 
Hereiin- followers, his motives were impugned, and the dis- 
Peshawur content was loud. Early in November, 1830, he was 
1830 ; constrained to relinquish Peshawur to Sooltan Ma¬ 

homed at a fixed tribute, and he proceeded to the left 
bank of the Indus to give battle to the Sikhs. The 
Syed depended chiefly on the few “ Ghazees” who had 
followed his fortunes throughout, and on the insurrec¬ 
tionary spirit of the Mozufferabad and other chiefs, for 
his Eusofzaee adherents had greatly decreased. The hill 
“khans” were soon brought under subjection by the efforts 
towards^ 8 ^her Singh and the governor of Cashmeer ; yet 
cashmeer, Ahmed continued active, and, in a desultory warfare 
prised and" am ^ rugged mountains, success for a time attended 
slain, May, him ; but, during a cessation of the frequent conflicts, 
183L he was surprised early in May, 1831, at a place called 
Balakot, and fallen upon and slain. The Eusofzaees 
at once expelled his deputies, the “ Ghazees” dispersed 
in disguise, and the family of the Syed hastened to 
Hindostan to find an honorable asylum with their 
friend the Nuwab of Tonk. # 

* Capt. Wade to Resident at Compare Murray’s Runjeet Singh , p. 
Delhi, 21st March, 1831, and other 150. The followers of the Syed 
dates in that and the previous year, strenuously deny his assumption of 


Chap. VII.] 


LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK. 


195 


The fame of Runjeet Singh was now at its height, 
and his friendship was sought by distant sovereigns. 
In 1829, agents from Belotchistan brought horses to 
the Sikh ruler, and hoped that the frontier posts of 
Hurrund and Dajel, westward of the Indus, which his 
feudatory of Buhawulpoor had usurped, would be re¬ 
stored to the Khan. # The Muharaja was likewise in 
communication with Shah Mehmood of Heeratt, and 
in 1880 he was invited, by the Baeeza Baee of Gwa¬ 
lior, to honor the nuptials of the young Sindhia with 
his presence.t The English were at the same time not 
without a suspicion that he had opened a correspondence 
with Russia §, and they were themselves about to flatter 
him as one necessary to the fulfilment of their expand¬ 
ing views of just influence and profitable commerce. 

In the beginning of 1881, Lord William Bentinck, 
the Governor General of India, arrived at Simlah, and 
a Sikh deputation waited upon his Lordship to convey 
to him Runjeet Singh’s complimentary wishes for his 
own welfare and the prosperity of his Government. 
The increasing warmth of the season prevented the 
despatch of a formal return mission, but Captain Wade, 
the political agent at Loodiana, was made the bearer of 
a letter to the Muharaja, thanking him for his attention. 
The principal duty of the agent was, however, to as¬ 
certain whether Runjeet Singh wished, and would pro¬ 
pose, to have an interview with Lord William Bentinck, 
for it was a matter in which it was thought the English 


the title of Caliph, his new coinage, 
and his bestowal of Eusofzaee maidens 
on his Indian followers. 

* Capt. Wade to the Resident at 
Delhi, 3rd May, 1829, and 29th 
April, 1830. Hurrund was once a 
place of considerable repute. (See 
Moonshee Mohun Lai’s Journal, under 
date 3rd March, 1836.) The Buha¬ 
wulpoor Memoirs show that the 
Nuwab was aided by the treachery of 
others in acquiring it. The place 
had to be retaken by General Ven- 

o 


tura (as the author learnt from that 
officer), when Buhawul Khan was 
deprived of his territories west of the 
Sutlej. 

f Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, 
21 st Jan., 1829, and 3rd Dec., 1830. 

f Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, 
7 th April, 1830. The Muharaja de¬ 
clined the invitation, saying Sindhia 
was not at Lahore when his son was 
married. 

§ Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, 
24th August, 1830. 
o 


1831. 


Runjeet 
Singh 
courted by 
various par¬ 
ties. 

The Be- 
lotches. 

Shah Meh¬ 
mood. 

The Baeeza 
Baee of 
Gwalior. 

The Rus¬ 
sians and 
the English. 


Lord Ben¬ 
tinck, the 
Governor 
General, at 
Simlah, 
1831. 



196 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1831. 


A meeting 
proposed 
with Run- 
jeet Singh, 
and desired 
by both 
parties for 
different 
reasons. 


The meet¬ 
ing at 
Rooper. 


17th July, 
1831. 


31st Oct., 
1831. 


Runjeet 

Singh’s 

anxiety 

about 

Sindh. 


viceroy could not take the initiative.* The object of 
the Governor General was mainly to give the world an 
impression of complete unanimity between the two 
states ; but the Muharaja wished to strengthen his own 
authority, and to lead the Sikh public to believe his 
dynasty was acknowledged as the proper head of the 
“ Khalsa,” by the predominant English rulers. The 
able chief, Hurree Singh, was one of those most averse 
to the recognition of the right of the Prince Khurruk 
Singh, and the heir apparent himself would seem to 
have been aware of the feelings of the Sikh people, for 
he had the year before opened a correspondence with 
the Governor of Bombay, as if to derive hope from the 
vague terms of a complimentary reply.t Runjeet Singh 
thus readily proposed a meeting, and one took place at 
Rooper, on the banks of the Sutlej, in the month of 
October (1831). A present of horses from the King 
of England had, in the mean time, reached Lahore, by 
the Indus and Ravee rivers, under the escort of Lieu¬ 
tenant Burnes, and during one of the several interviews 
with the Governor General, Runjeet Singh had sought 
for and obtained a written assurance of perpetual friend¬ 
ship. t The impression went abroad that his family 
would be supported by the English Government, and 
ostensibly Runjeet Singh’s objects seemed wholly, as 
they had been partly, gained. But his mind was not 
set at ease about Sindh : vague accounts had reached 
him of some design with regard to that country ; he 
plainly hinted his own schemes, and observed, the 

* Government to Capt. Wade, of doubts and apprehensions with 
28th April, 1831, and Murray’s Run - respect to his succession and even his 
jeet Singh, p. 162. safety. Runjeet Singh’s anxiety with 

| With regard to this interchange regard to the meeting at Rooper, ex- 
of letters, see the Persian Secretary to aggerated, perhaps, by M. Allard, 
the Political Secretary at Bombay, 6th may be learnt from Mr. Prinsep’s 
July, 1830. account in Murray’s Runjeet Singh, 

That Runjeet Singh was jealous, p. 162. [Colonel Wade has informed 
personally, of Hurree Singh, or that the author that the whole of the Sikh 
the servant would have proved a chiefs were said by Runjeet Singh 
traitor to the living master, is not himself to be averse to the meeting 
probable : but Hurree Singh was a with the British Governor General.] 
zealous Sikh and an ambitious man, J Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 166. 
and Khurruk Singh was always full 



Chap. VII.] NAVIGATION OF THE INDUS. 


197 


Ameers had no efficient troops, and that they could not i83i. 
be well disposed towards the English, as they had thrown * 
difficulties in the way of Lieutenant Burnes’ progress.* 

But the Governor General would not divulge to his in¬ 
quiring guest and ally, the tenor of propositions already 
on their way to the chiefs of Sindh, confessedly lest the 
Muharaja should at once endeavor to counteract his 
peaceful and beneficial intentions.t Runjeet Singh may 
or may not have felt that he was distrusted, but as he 
was to be a party to the opening of the navigation of 
the Indus, and as the project had been matured, it 
would have better suited the character and the position 
of the British Government had no concealment been 
attempted. 

The traveller Moorcroft had been impressed with The scheme 
the use which might be made of the Indus as a channel the°indus g 
of British commerce t, and the scheme of navigating to com- 
that river and its tributaries was eagerly adopted by the merce 
Indian Government, and by the advocates of material 
utilitarianism. One object of sending King William’s 
presents for Runjeet Singh by water, was to ascertain, 
as if undesignedly, the trading value of the classical 
stream §, and the result of Lieutenant Burnes’ obser¬ 
vations convinced Lord William Bentinck of its supe¬ 
riority over the Ganges. There seemed also, in his 
Lordship’s opinion, good reason to believe that the great 
western valley had at one time been as populous as that 
of the east, and it was thought that the judicious exer¬ 
cise of the paramount influence of the British Govern¬ 
ment, might remove those political obstacles which had 

* Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 167. 168. The whole of the tenth chapter 

This opinion of Runjeet Singh about of Capt. Murray’s book, which in- 
Sindhian troops, may not be pleasing eludes the meeting at Rooper, may 
to the victors of Dubba and Meeanee, be regarded as the composition of 
although the Muharaja impugned not Mr. Prinsep, the Secretary to Govern- 
their courage, but their discipline and ment, with the Governor General, 
equipment. Shah Shooja’s expedition, \ Moorcroft, Travels , ii. 338. 
of 1834, nevertheless, served to show § Government to Colonel Pottin- 
the fairness of Runjeet Singh’s con- ger, Oct. 22nd., 1831, and Murray’s 
elusions. Runjeet Singh, p. 153. 

f Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 167, 

o 3 


198 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1831 . banished commerce from the rivers of Alexander.* It 

'-*—' was therefore resolved, in the current language of the 

day, to open the Indus to the navigation of the world. 
Proposals Before the Governor General met Runjeet Singh, he 
Smiht°nf e had directed Colonel Pottinger to proceed to Hydrabad, 
and the to negotiate with the Ameers of Sindh the opening of 
the lower portion of the river to all boats on the pay¬ 
ment of a fixed toll + ; and, two months afterwards, or 
19 th Dec., towards the end of 1831, he wrote to the Muharaja 
that the desire he had formerly expressed to see a steam¬ 
boat, was a proof of his enlightened understanding, and 
was likely to be gratified before long, as it was wished 
to draw closer the commercial relations of the two 
states. Captain Wade was at the same time sent to 
explain, in person, the object of Colonel Pottinger’s 
mission to Sindh, to propose the free navigation of the 
Sutlej in continuation of that of the Lower Indus, and to 
assure the Muharaja that, by the extension of British com¬ 
merce, was not meant the extension of the British power.t 
Runjeet But Runjeet Singh, also, had his views and his suspi- 
viewsLid cions.§ In the south of the Punjab he had wrought by 
suspicions, indirect means, as long as it was necessary to do so 
among a newly conquered people. The Nuwab of 
Buhawulpoor, his manager of the country across to 
Dera Ghazee Khan, was less regular in his payments 
than he should have been, and his expulsion from the 
Punjab Proper would be profitable, and unaccompanied 
with danger, if the English remained neuter. Again, 
Buhawul Khan was virtually a chief protected by the 
British Government on the left bank of the Sutlej, and 
Lieutenant Burnes was on his way up the Indus. The 

* Government to Col. Pottinger, would not avow his motives. (Mur- 
22nd Oct., 1831. ray’s Runjeet Singh, p. 168.) 

f Murray’s Runjeet Singh, p. § Runjeet Singh’s attention was 
168. mainly directed to Sindh, and a ru- 

{ Government to Capt. Wade, mored matrimonial alliance between 
19th Dec., 1831. It is admitted one of the Ameers, or the son of one 
that the mission, or the schemes, had a of them, and a Persian princess, 
political reference to Russia and her caused him some anxiety. (Capt. 
designs, but the Governor General Wade to Government, 5th Aug., 1831.) 


Chap. VII.] RUNJEET SINGH’S DESIGNS ON SINDH. 


199 


Muharaja, ever mistrustful, conceived that the political i83i, 1832. 
status of that officer’s observation, would be referred to Y 
and upheld by his Government as the true and permanent 
one *, and hence the envoy found affairs in process of 
change when he left the main stream of the Indus, and 
previous to the interview at Rooper, General Ventura He repels 
had dispossessed Buhawul Khan both of his Lahore ^rS^rom 
farms, and of his ancestral territories on the right bank the Lower 
of the Sutlej.t Further, Shikarpoor formed no part 
of the Sindh of the Kulhoras or Talpoors; it had only a nd declares 
fallen to the latter usurpers after the death of Mahomed his superior 
Azeem Khan, the vuzeer of the titular king, Shah shikarpoor. 
Ayoob, and it continued to be held jointly by the three 
families of Kheirpoor, Meerpoor, and Hydrabad, as a 
fortuitous possession. Runjeet Singh considered that 
he, as the paramount of the Barukzaees of the Indus, 
had a better right to the district than the Ameers of 
south-eastern Sindh, and he was bent upon annexing it 
to his dominions.t 

Such was Runjeet Singh’s temper of mind when Runjeet 
visited by Captain Wade to negotiate the opening of f 0 ^eEn- dS 
the Sutlej to British traders. The Muharaja avowed giish de- 
himself well pleased, but he had hoped that the English ^832!’ 
were about to force their way through Sindh ; he asked 
how many regiments Colonel Pottinger had with him, 
and he urged his readiness to march and coerce the 
Ameers. § It was further ascertained that he had made 
propositions to Meer Alee Moorad of Meerpoor, to farm 
Dera Ghazee Khan, as if to sow dissensions among the 
Talpoors, and to gain friends for Lahore, while Colonel 
Pottinger was winning allies for the English.|| But he 
perceived that the Governor General had resolved upon 

* This view appears to have sub- used by Runjeet Singh. See, for 
sequently occurred to Capt. Wade as instance, Capt. Wade to Govern- 
having influenced the Muharaja. ment, 15th Jan. 1837. 

See his letter to Government, 18th § Capt. Wade to Government, 1st 
Oct, 1836. and 13th Feb., 1832. 

+ ”capt.* Wade to Government, || Capt. Wade to Government, 

5th Nov.,*1831. 21 st Dec., 1831 ; and Col. Pottinger 

\ This argument was continually to Government, 23d Sept. 1837. 


200 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1833— 

1835. 


Declaring, 

however, 

that their 

commerce 

interfered 

with his 

policy. 


Shah Shoo- 
ja’s second 
expedition 
to Afghan¬ 
istan, 
1833-35. 


The Shah’s 
overtures to 
the English, 
1827. 


His nego¬ 
tiations 
with the 
Sindhians, 
1831 ; 


his course, and he gave his assent to the common use 
of the Sutlej and Indus, and to the residence of a Bri¬ 
tish officer at Mithenkot to superintend the navigation.* 
He did not desire to appear as if in opposition to his 
allies of many years, but he did not seek to conceal 
from Captain Wade his opinion that the commercial 
measures of the English had really abridged his political 
power, when he gave up for the time the intention of 
seizing Shikarpoor.t 

The connection of the English with the nations of the 
Indus was about to be rendered more complicated by 
the revived hopes of Shah Shooja. That ill-fated king 
had taken up his abode, as before related, at Loodiana, 
in the year 1821, and he brooded at his leisure over 
schemes for the reconquest of Khorassan. In 1826 he 
was in correspondence with Runjeet Singh, who ever 
regretted that the Shah was not his guest or his pri¬ 
soner. t In 1827 he made propositions to the British 
Government, and he was told that he was welcome to 
recover his kingdom with the aid of Runjeet Singh, or 
of the Sindhians, but that, if he failed, his present hosts 
might not again receive him.§ In 1829 the Shah was 
induced, by the strange state of affairs in Peshawur 
consequent on Syed Ahmed’s ascendancy, to suggest to 
Runjeet Singh that, with Sikh aid, he could readily 
master it, and reign once more an independent sove¬ 
reign. The Muharaja amused him with vain hopes, 
but the English repeated their warning, and the ex- 
king’s hopes soon fell.|| In 1831 they again rose, for 
the Talpoor Ameers disliked the approach of English 


* See Appendices, XXVIII. and 
XXIX. A tariff on goods was at first 
talked of, but subsequently a toll on 
boats was preferred. From the Hima¬ 
layas to the sea the whole toll was 
fixed at 570 rupees, of which the 
Lahore government got Rs. 155, 4, 0 
for territories on the right bank, and 
Rs. 39, 5, 1 for territories on the 
left bank of the Sutlej. (Government 
to Capt. Wade, 9th June, 1834, and 


Capt. Wade to Government, 13th 
Dec. 1835.) 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 
13th Feb. 1832. 

\ Capt. Wade to the Resident at 
Delhi, 25th July, 1826. 

§ Resident at Delhi to Capt. 
Wade, 25th July, 1827. 

|| Government to Resident at 
Delhi, 12th June, 1829. 



Chap. VII.] SHAH SHOOJA AND RUNJEET SINGH. 


SOI 


envoys, and they gave encouragement to the tenders of 
their titular monarch.* Negotiations were reopened 
with Runjeet Singh, who was likewise out of humor 
with the English about Sindh, and he was not unwilling 
to aid the Shah in the recovery of his rightful throne ; 
but the views of the Sikh reached to the Persian fron¬ 
tier as well as to the shores of the ocean, and he sug¬ 
gested that it would be well if the slaughter of kine 
were prohibited throughout Afghanistan, and if the 
gates of Somnath were restored to their original tem¬ 
ple. The Shah was not prepared for these concessions, 
and he evaded them, by reminding the Muharaja that 
his chosen allies, the English, freely took the lives of 
cows, and that a prophecy foreboded the downfall of 
the Sikh empire on the removal of the gates from 
Ghuznee.t 

In 18 32 a rumored advance of the Persians against 
Heerat gave further encouragement to Shah Shooja in 
his designs.t The perplexed Ameers of Sindh offered 
him assistance if he would relinquish his supremacy, 
and the Shah promised acquiescence if he succeeded.§ 
To Runjeet Singh the Shah offered to waive his right 
to Peshawur and other districts beyond the Indus, and 
also to give an acquittance for the Koh-i-noor diamond, 
in return for assistance in men and money. The Mu¬ 
haraja was doubtful what to do ; he was willing to 
secure an additional title to Peshawur, but he was 
apprehensive of the Shah’s designs, should the expedi- 


1831,1832. 


and with 

Runjeet 

Singh, 

1831. 


The gates of 
Somnath 
and the 
slaughter of 
kine. 


Further 
negotiations 
with the 
Sikhs and 
Sindhians, 
1832. 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 9th 
Sept., 1831. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 
21st Nov., 1831. — Considering the 
ridicule occasioned by the subsequent 
removal by the English of these tra¬ 
ditional gates, it may gratify the ap¬ 
provers and originators of that mea¬ 
sure to know that they were of some 
local importance. When the author 
was at Buhawulpoor in 1845, a num¬ 
ber of Afghan merchants came to ask 
him whether their restoration could 


be brought about — for the repute 
of the fane (a tomb made a temple 
by superstition), and the income of 
its peer or saint, had much declined. 
They would carefully convey them 
back, they said, and they added that 
they understood the Hindoos did not 
want them, and that of course they 
could be of no value to the Christians! 

| Government to Capt. Wade, 
19th Oct., 1832. 

§ Capt. Wade to Government, 
15th Sept., 1832. 


[Chap. VII. 


202 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


1832. 


The En¬ 
glish indif¬ 
ferent about 
the Shah’s 
attempts; 


but Dost 
Mahomed 
Khan is 


tion be successful.^ He wished, moreover, to know 
the precise views of the English, and he therefore pro¬ 
posed that they should be parties* * * § to any engagement 
entered into, for he had no confidence, he said, in Af¬ 
ghans.! Each of the three parties had distinct and 
incompatible objects. Runjeet Singh wished to get rid 
of the English commercial objections to disturbing the 
Ameers of Sindh, by offering to aid the rightful poll- 
tical paramount in its recovery. The ex-king thought 
the Muharaja really wished to get him into his power, 
and the project of dividing Sindh fell to the ground.! 
The Talpoor Ameers, on their part, thought that they 
would save Shikarpoor by playing into the Shah’s 
hands, and they therefore endeavored to prevent a 
coalition between him and the Sikh ruler.§ 

The Shah could not come to any satisfactory terms 
with Runjeet Singh, but as his neutrality was essential, 
especially with regard to Shikarpoor, a treaty of alliance 
was entered into by which the districts beyond the Indus, 
and in the possession of the Sikhs, were formally ceded 
to the Muharaja.|| The English had also become less 
averse to his attempt, and he was assured that his annual 
stipend would be continued to his family, and no warn¬ 
ing was held out to him against returning, as had be¬ 
fore been done.^f A third of his yearly allowance was 
even advanced to him : but the political agent was at the 
same time desired to impress upon all people, that the 
British Government had no interest in the Shah’s pro¬ 
ceedings, that its policy was one of complete neutrality, 
and it was added that Dost Mahomed could be so assured 
in reply to a letter received from him.^* Dost Mahomed 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 

13th Dec., 1832. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 

31st Dec., 1832. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 

9th April, 1833. 

§ Capt. Wade to Government, 

27th March, 1833. 

|| This treaty, which became the 
foundation of the Tripartite Treaty of 


1838, was drawn up in March, 1833, 
and finally agreed to in August of 
that year. (Capt. Wade to Govern¬ 
ment, 17th June, 1834.) 

«I Government to Capt. Wade, 
19th Dec., 1832. 

** Government to Capt. Faithful, 
Acting Political Agent, 13th Dec., 
1832, and to Capt. Wade, 5th and 
9th of March, 1833. 


Chap, VTI.] EXPEDITION OF SHAH SHOOJA. 


203 


had mastered Caubul shortly after Mahomed Azeem \ 8 8 s 3 3 ~ 
Khan’s death, and he soon learnt to become apprehensive —* 

of the English. In 1832, he cautioned the Ameers of ^“ 0 e ^ tg 
Sindh against allowing them to establish a commercial their friend- 
factory in Shikarpoor, as Shah Shooja would certainly shi P- 
soon follow to guard it with an army *, and he next 
sought, in the usual way, to ascertain the views of the 
paramounts of India by entering into a correspondence 
with them. 

Shah Shooja left Loodiana in the middle of February, The shah 
1833. He had with him about 200,000 rupees in trea- ^.^833. 
sure, and nearly 3000 armed followers.t He got a 
gun and some camels from Buhawul Khan, he crossed 
the Indus towards the middle of May, and he entered 
Shikarpoor without opposition. The Sindhians did not 
oppose him, but they rendered him no assistance, and 
they at last thought it better to break with him at once 
than to put their means into his hands for their own 
more assured destruction^ But they were signally 
defeated near Shikarpoor on the 9th January, 1834, Defeats the 
and they willingly paid 500,000 rupees in cash, and gJ£ d j^ ns ’ 
gave a promise of tribute for Shikarpoor, to get rid of 1834. 
the victor’s presence. § The Shah proceeded towards 
Candahar, and he maintained himself in the neighbor¬ 
hood of that city for a few months ; but, on the 1 st July, But is rout- 
he was brought to action by Dost Mahomed Khan and ^har^ist 
his brothers, and fairly routed.|| After many wander- July, 1834, 


* The Buhawulpoor Memoirs state 
that such a recommendation was 
pressed by Dost Mahomed on the 
Ameers; the belief in the gradual 
conversion of “ Kotees,” or resi¬ 
dencies or commercial houses, into 
“ Chaonees,” or military cantonments, 
having, it may be inferred, become 
notorious as far as Caubul. Dost 
Mahomed’s main object, however, 
was to keep Shah Shooja at a dis¬ 
tance ; and he always seems to* have 
held that he was safe from the En¬ 
glish themselves so long as Lahore 
remained unshaken. For another in¬ 


stance of the extent to which the 
English were thought to be identified 
with Shah Shooja, see the Asiatic 
Journal , xix. 38., as quoted by Pro¬ 
fessor Wilson in Moorcroft’s Travels , 
note, p. 340. vol. ii. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 
9th April, 1833. 

j: Capt. Wade to Government, 
25th Aug., 1833, and the Memoirs of 
the Buhawulpoor Family. 

§ Capt. Wade to Government, 
30th Jan., 1834. 

|| Capt. Wade to Government, 
25th July, 1834. 


204 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1834— ings, and an appeal to Persia and to Shah Kamran of 
. 1836 ‘ , Heerat, and also an attempt upon Shikarpoor he re- 
and returns turned to his old asylum at Loodiana in March, 1835, 
ana^°i 835 . bringing with him about 250,000 rupees in money and 
valuables.t 

Runjeet Runjeet Singh, on his part, was apprehensive that 
pidoiwof" Stall Shooja might set aside their treaty of alliance, 
shah so he resolved to guard against the possible conse- 
strength- quences of the ex-king’s probable success, and to seize 
ens himself Peshawur before his tributaries could tender their 
annexing^ 7 allegiance to Caubul.t A large force, under the 
Peshawur nominal command of the Muharaja’s grandson, Nao 
minions?" Nihal Singh, but really led by Sirdar Hurree Singh, 
1834. crossed the Indus, and an increased tribute of horses 

was demanded on the plea of the prince’s presence, for the 
first time, at the head of an army. The demand would 
seem to have been complied with, but the citadel of 
Peshawur was nevertheless assaulted and taken on the 
6 th May, 1834. § The hollow negotiations with 
Sooltan Mahomed Khan, are understood to have been 
precipitated by the impetuous Hurree Singh, who openly 
expressed his contempt for all Afghans, and did not 
conceal his design to carry the Sikh arms beyond 
Peshawur. || 

20th July, The Sikhs were, in the meantime, busy elsewhere as 
l83 2 . well as in Peshawur itself. In 1832 Hurree Singh had 
The Huzara finally routed the Mahometan tribes above Attok, and 
Der^at t0 better ensure their obedience, he built a fort on the 
more com- right side of the Indus. In 1834 a force was em- 
duced? re ployed against the Afghans of Tak and Bunnoo, beyond 
1832-36. Dera Ismaeel Khan; but a considerable detachment sig¬ 
nally failed in an attack upon a mountain stronghold, 
and a chief of rank and upwards of 300 men were 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 

21st Oct. and 29th Dec., 1834, and 

6th Feb., 1835. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 

19th March, 1835. 

t Capt. Wade to Government, 

17th June, 1834. 


§ Capt. Wade to Government, 
19th May, 1834. 

|| These views of Hurree Singh’s 
were sufficiently notorious in the 
Punjab some years ago, when that 
chief was a person before the public. 

D Capt. Wade to Government, 
7th Aug., 1832. 


Chap. VII.] SIKH MISSION TO CALCUTTA. 


SO 5 


slain. The ill success vexed the Muharaja, and he de¬ 
sired his agent to explain to the British authorities the 
several particulars ; but lest they should still be disposed 
to reflect upon the quality of his troops, he reminded 
Captain Wade that such things had happened before, 
that his rash officers did not wait until a breach had 
been effected, and that, indeed, the instance of General 
Gillespie and the Goorkhas at Kalungga, afforded an 
exact illustration of what had taken place ! * In 1833 
the grandson of Sunsar Chund, of Kototch, was induced 
to return to his country, and on his way through Loo- 
diana he was received with considerable ceremony by 
the British authorities, for the fame of Sunsar Chund 
gave to his posterity some semblance of power and 
regal dignity. A jagheer or fief of 50,000 rupees was 
conferred upon the young chief, for the Muharaja was 
not disposed from nature to he wantonly harsh, nor 
from policy to drive any one to desperation.t During 
the same year Runjeet Singh proposed to send a chief 
to Calcutta with presents for the King of England, and 
not improbably with the view of ascertaining the general 
opinion about his designs on Sindh. The mission, 
under Goojer Singh Mujeetheea, finally took its depar¬ 
ture in September, 1834, and was absent a year and a 
half.! 

When Mr. Moorcroft was in Ludakh (in 1821, &c.), 
the fear of Runjeet Singh was general in that country, and 
the Sikh governor of Cashmeer had already demanded 
the payment of tribute § ; but the weak and distant state 
was little molested until the new Rajas of Jummoo had 
obtained the government of the hill principalities between 
the Ravee and Jehlum, and felt that their influence with 


Sunsar 

Chund’s 

grandson 

returns, 

1833. 


Runjeet 
Singh sends 
a mission to 
Calcutta, 
1834-36. 


Runjeet 
Singh and 
Ludakh, 
1821. 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 
10th May, 1834. Dera Ismaeel 
Khan and the country about it was 
not fairly brought into order until 
two years afterwards. (Capt. Wade 
to Government, 7th and 13th July, 
1836.) 


f Capt. Wade to Government, 
9th Oct., 1833, and 3d Jan., 1835. 

I Capt. Wade to Government, 
11th Sept., 1834, and 4th April, 
1836. 

§ Moorcroft, Travel*, i. 420. 


206 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1835,1836 . Runjeet Singh was secure and commanding. In 1834 
Ludakh Zorawur Singh, Raja Golab Singh’s commander in 
reduced by Kishtwar, took advantage of internal disorders in Leh, 
moo Rajas, and declared that an estate, anciently held by the Kisht- 

1834- 35. war chief, must be restored. He crossed into the 

southern districts, but did not reach the capital until 
early in 1835. He sided with one of the contending 
parties, deposed the reigning Raja, and set up his re¬ 
bellious minister in his stead. He fixed a tribute of 
30,000 rupees, he placed a garrison in the fort, he 
retained some districts along the northern slopes of the 
Himalayas, and reached Jummoo with his spoils 
towards the close of 1835. The dispossessed Raja 
complained to the Chinese authorities in Lussa; but, as 
the tribute continued to be regularly paid by his succes¬ 
sor, no notice was taken of the usurpation. The 
governor of Cashmeer complained that Golab Singh’s 
commercial regulations interfered with the regular 
supply of shawl-wool, and that matter was at once ad¬ 
justed ; yet the grasping ambition of the favorites never¬ 
theless caused Runjeet Singh some misgivings amid all 
their protestations of devotion and loyalty.* 

Runjeet Rut Runjeet Singh’s main apprehensions were on 
cmf tohis the side of Peshawur, and his fondest hopes in the 
claims on direction of Sindh. The defeat which the Ameers had 
amfhiTde-’ sustained diminished their confidence in themselves, and 
signs on when Shah Shooja returned beaten from Candahar, 

1835 - 36 . Noor Mahomed of Hydrabad was understood to be 

willing to surrender Shikarpoor to the Maharaja, on 
Negotia- condition of his guarantee against the attempts of the 
tions. ex-king, t But this pretext would not get rid of the 
English objections ; and Runjeet Singh, moreover, had 
little confidence in the Sindhians. He kept, as a check 

* Capt. Wade to Government, ruk Singh became especially appre- 
27th Jan., 1835, and Mr. Vigne, hensive of the designs of the Jum- 
Travels in Cashmeer and Tibet, ii. moo family. (Capt. Wade to Govern- 
352. ; their statements being cor- ment, 10th Aug., 1836.) 
rected or amplified from the author’s f Capt. Wade to Government, 
manuscript notes. The prince Khur- 6th Feb., 1835. 


Ch. VII.] RUNJEET SINGII THWARTED BY THE ENGLISH. 


207 


over them, a representative of the expelled Kulhoras, 1835, 1836. 
as a pensioner on his bounty, in Rajenpoor beyond the Y 
Indus # ; and, at once to overawe both them and the 
Barukzaees, he again opened a negotiation with Shah 
Shooja as soon as he returned to Loodiana.t But his 
main difficulty was with his British allies ; and, to 
prove to them the reasonableness of his discontent, he 
would instance the secret aid which the Muzaree free¬ 
booters received from the Ameers t ; he would again 
insist that Shikarpoor was a dependency of the chiefs of 
Khorassan§, and he would hint that the river below 
Mithenkot was not the Indus but the Sutlej, the river 
of the treaty, — the stream which had so long given 
freshness and beauty to the emblematic garden of their 
friendship, and which continued its fertilizing way to 
the ocean, separating, yet uniting, the realms of the two 
brotherly powers of the East! || 

But the English had formed a treaty of navigation Runjeet 
with Sindh, and the designs of Runjeet Singh were 
displeasing to them. They said they could not view pleasing to 
without regret and disapprobation the prosecution of theEn s llsh - 
plans of unprovoked hostility against states to which 
they were bound by ties of interest and good will.^[ 

They therefore wished to dissuade Runjeet Singh 
against any attempt on Shikarpoor ; but they felt that 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 
17th June, 1834. Surufraz Khan, 
otherwise called Gholam Shah, was 
the Kulhora expelled by the Tal- 
poors. He received Rajenpoor in 
Jagheer from Caubul, and was main¬ 
tained in it by Runjeet Singh. The 
place was held to yield 100,000 ru¬ 
pees, including certain rents reserved 
by the state, but the district was not 
really worth 30,000 rupees. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 
17th April, 1835, and other letters 
of the same year. The Muharaja 
still urged that the English should 
guarantee, as it were, Shah Shooja’s 
moderation in success; partly, perhaps, 
because the greatness of the elder 


dynasty of Ahmed Shah still dwelt in 
the mind of the first paramount of 
the Sikhs, but partly also with the 
view of sounding his European allies 
as to their real intentions. 

J Capt. Wade to Government, 
5th Oct., 1836. 

§ Capt. Wade to Government, 
15th Jan., 1837. 

j| Capt. Wade to Government, 
5th Oct., 18361 

f Government to Capt. Wade, 
22d Aug., 1836.—This plea will re¬ 
call to mind the usual argument of 
the Romans for interference, viz. that 
their friends were not to be molested 
by strangers. 


208 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. YII. 


1836. this must be done discreetly, for their object was to 
v v ; remain on terms of friendship with every one, and to 
make their influence available for the preservation of 
the general peace. * Such were the sentiments of the 
English; but, in the meantime, the border disputes 
between the Sikhs and Sindhians were fast tending to 
produce a rupture. In 1883 the predatory tribe of 
Muzarees, lying along the right bank of the Indus, 
below Mithenkot, had been chastised by the governor 
of Mooltan, who proposed to put a garrison in their 
stronghold of Rojhan, but was restrained by the Muha- 
raja from so doing, t In 1885 the Ameers of Kheir- 
poor were believed to be instigating the Muzarees in 
their attacks on the Sikh posts ; and as the tribe was 
regarded by the English as dependent on Sindh, 
although possessed of such a degree of separate exist¬ 
ence as to warrant its mention in the commercial 
arrangements as being entitled to a fixed portion of the 
whole toll, the Ameers were informed that the English 
looked to them to restrain the Muzarees, so as to 
deprive Runjeet Singh of all pretext for interference, t 
TheMuha- The aggressions nevertheless continued, or were alleged 
“ el> to be continued ; and in August, 1836, the Mooltan 
keeps in governor took formal possession of Rojhan. § In the 
plans of October following the Muzarees were brought to action, 
aggrandize- and defeated, and the Sikhs occupied a fort called Ken, 
to the south of Rojhan, and beyond the proper limit of 
that tribe. || 

The objects Thus was Runjeet Singh gradually feeling his way 
giisiTbei 11 b y f° rce ? hut the English had, in the mean time, resolved 
come poiiti- to go far beyond him in diplomacy. It had been de- 
ascommer- termined that Captain Burnes should proceed on a 
ciai, 1836; commercial mission to the countries bordering on the 


* Government to Capt. Wade, 
22d Aug., 1836. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 
27th May, 1835. 

| Government to Capt. Wade, 
27th May, 1835, and 5th Sept., 1836 ; 


and Government to Col. Pottinger, 
19th Sept., 1836. 

§ Capt. Wade to Government, 
29th Aug., 1836. 

|| Capt. Wade to Government, 
2d Nov., 1836. 


Chap. VII.] COMMERCIAL POLICY OF THE ENGLISH. 

Indus, with the view of completing the reopening of 
that river to the traffic of the world.* But the Muha- 
raja, it was said, should understand that their objects 
were purely mercantile, and that, indeed, his aid was 
looked for in establishing somewhere a great entrepot of 
trade, such as, it had once been hoped, might have been 
commenced at Mithenkot.f Yet the views of the British 
authorities with regard to Sindh were inevitably be¬ 
coming political as well as commercial. The condition 
of that country, said the Governor General, had been 
much thought about, and the result was a conviction 
that the connection with it should be drawn closer, t 
The Ameers, he continued, might desire the protection 
of the English against Runjeet Singh, and previous 
negotiations, which their fears or their hostility had 
broken off, might be renewed with a view to giving and they re- 
them assistance ; and, finally, it was determined that mediating 
the English Government should mediate between Run- between 
jeet Singh and the Sindhians, and afterwards adjust g^^and 
the other external relations of the Ameers when a the sind- 
Resident should be stationed at Hydrabad. 

With regard to Runjeet Singh, the English rulers TheEngiish 
observed that they were bound by the strongest con- t o restrain 
siderations of political interest to prevent the extension Runjeet 
of the Sikh power along the course of the Indus, and out1!hrea£" 
that, although they would respect the acknowledged eninghim. 
territories of the Muharaja, they desired that his exist¬ 
ing relations of peace should not be disturbed ; for, if 
war took place, the Indus would never be opened to 
commerce. The political agent was directed to use 
every means short of menace to induce Runjeet Singh 
to abandon his designs against Shikarpoor ; and Shah 
Shooja, whose hopes were still great, and whose ne¬ 
gotiations were still talked of, was to be told that if he 
left Loodiana he must not return, and that the main- 

* Government to Capt. Wade, J Government to Col. Pottinger, 

5th Sept., 1836. 26th Sept., 1836. 

f Government to Capt. Wade, 

5th Sept., 1836. 



r 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. 

tenance for his family would be at once discontinued. 
With regard to the Muzarees, whose lands had been 
actually occupied by the Sikhs, it was said that their 
reduction had effected an object of general benefit, and 
that the question of their permanent control could be 
determined at a future period.* 

The Sindhians, on their part, complained that the fort 
of Ken had been occupied, and in reply to Runjeet 
ready'to^re- Singh’s demand that their annual complimentary or 
sort to prudential offerings should be increased, or that a large 
arms ' . sum should be paid for the restoration of their captured 
fort, they avowed their determination to resort to arms.t 
Runjeet Nor can there be any doubt that Sindh would have 
equally been i nva( led by the Sikhs, had not Colonel Pottinger’s 
ready ; negotiations for their protection deterred the Muharaja 
from an act which he apprehended the English might 
seize upon to declare their alliance at an end. The 
princes Khurruk Singh and Nao Nihal Singh were each 
on the Indus, at the head of considerable armies, and 
the remonstrances of the British political agent alone 
detained the Muharaja himself at Lahore. Nevertheless, 
so evenly were peace and war balanced in Runjeet 
Singh’s mind, that Captain Wade thought it advisable 
to proceed to his capital to explain to him in person 
the risks he would incur by acting in open opposition 
but yields to the British Government. He listened, and at last 
presenta" yi^ded. His deference, he said, to the wishes of his 
tions of allies took place of every other consideration ; he would 
Dec En i S 836 ’ ^ et re l at i° ns with the Ameers of Sindh remain on their 
old footing, he would destroy the fort of Ken, but he 
would continue to occupy liojhan and the Muzaree 
territory.t Runjeet Singh was urged by his chiefs not 
to yield to the demands of the English, for to their 
understanding it was not clear where such demands 
would stop ; but he shook his head, and asked them 

* Government to Capt. Wade, | Capt. Wade to Government, 
26th Sept., 1836. 3d Jan., 1837. 

t Capt. Wade to Government, 

2d Nov. and 13th Dec., 1836. 


210 


The Sind¬ 
hians im- 


Chap. VII.] RETROSPECT: AFGHANISTAN. 211 

what had become of the two hundred thousand spears 1836. 
of the Mahrattas! * — and, as if to show how completely v v 
he professed to for-get or forgive the check imposed on 
him, he invited the Governor General to be present at 
Lahore on the occasion of the marriage of the grandson 
whom he had hoped to hail as the conqueror of Sindh.t 
Nevertheless he continued to entertain a hope that his 
objects might one day be attained; he avoided a distinct 
settlement of the boundary with the Ameers, and of the 
question of supremacy over the Muzarees.t Neither Tetcon- 
was he disposed to relinquish Rojhan ; the place re- hoidRc^han 
mained a Sikh possession, and it may be regarded to with uite- 
have become formally such by the submission of the nor vie * s ' 
chief of the tribe in the year 1838.§ 

It is now necessary to go back for some years to Retrospect. 

J cj J TThc Lb - 

trace the connection of the English Government with g n S h and 
the Barukzaee rulers of Afghanistan. Mahomed Azeem Baruk - 

• • ^ • • • zaees 1829 

Khan died in 1823, as has been mentioned, immediately _i 836 . 
after Peshawur became tributary to the Sikhs. His 
son Hubeeboolla nominally succeeded to the supremacy 
which Futteh Khan and Mahomed Azeem had both 
exercised; but it soon become evident that the mind of 
the youth was unsettled, and his violent proceedings 
enabled his crafty and unscrupulous uncle, Dost Ma¬ 
homed Khan, to seize Caubul, Ghuznee, and Jellalabad 
as his own, while a second set of his brothers held 
Candahar in virtual independence, and a third governed 
Peshawur as the tributaries of Runjeet Singh. || In 
the year 1824, Mr. Moorcroft, the traveller, was upon 
the whole well satisfied with the treatment he received 
from the Barukzaees, although their patronage cost him 

* Compare Capt. Wade to Govern- t Capt. Wade to Government, 
ment, 11th Jan., 1837. Runjeet Singh 13th and 15th Feb., 8th July, and 
not unfrequently referred to the over- 10th Aug., 1837. 
throw of the Mahratta power as a § Capt. Wade to Government, 
reason for remaining, under all and 9th Jan., 1838. 

any circumstances, on good terms || Compare Moorcroft, Travels , ii. 
with his European allies. [See also 345, &c., and Moonshee Mohun Lai, 

Colonel Wade’s Narrative of his Ser- Life of Dost Mahomed Khan , i. 130. 
vices, p. 44. note.] 153, &c. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 5th 
Jan., 1837. 

P 2 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


212 


1829— 

1832. 


Sooltan 
Mahomed 
Khan so¬ 
licits the 
friendship 
or protec¬ 
tion of the 
English 
against the 
Sikhs, 
1829. 


Dost Ma¬ 
homed 
Khan does 
the same, 
1832. 


The Baruk- 


money.* * * § A few years afterwards Sooltan Mahomed 
Khan of Peshawur, who had most to fear from strangers, 
opened a communication with the political agent at Loo- 
dianat, and in 1829 he wished to negotiate as an inde¬ 
pendent chief with the British Government, t But the 
several brothers were jealous of one another, many de¬ 
sired separate principalities, Dost Mahomed aimed at 
supremacy, rumors of Persian designs alarmed them 
on the west, the aggressive policy of Runjeet Singh 
gave them greater cause of fear on the east, and the 
chance presence of English travellers in Afghanistan 
again led them to hope that the foreign masters of 
India might be induced to give them stability between 
contending powers. § In 1832 Sooltan Mahomed Khan 
again attempted to open a negotiation, if only for the 
release of his son, who was a hostage with Runjeet 
Singh. || The Nuwab, Jubbar Khan of Caubul, like¬ 
wise addressed letters to the British frontier authority, 
and in 1832 Dost Mahomed himself directly asked for 
the friendship of the English.^ All these communica¬ 
tions were politely acknowledged, but at the time it was 
held desirable to avoid all intimacy of connection with 
rulers so remote.** 

In 1831 new dangers threatened the usurping Ba- 


* Moorcroft, Travels , ii. 346, 347. 

f Capt. Wade to the Resident at 
Delhi, 21st April, 1828. 

t Capt. Wade to Government, 
19th May, 1832. The brothers had 
already (1823, 1824) made similar 
proposals through Mr. Moorcroft. 
(See Travels, ii. 340.) 

§ Mr. Fraser and Mr. Stirling, of 
the Bengal civil service, were in 
Afghanistan, the former in 1826, 
apparently, and the latter in 1828. 
Mr. Masson also entered the country 
by way of the Lower Punjab, in 

1827, and the American, Dr. Harlan, 
followed him in a year by the same 
route. Dr. Harlan came to Lahore 
in 1829, after leading the English 
authorities to believe that he desired 
to constitute himself an agent be¬ 
tween their Government and Shah 


Shooja, with reference doubtless to 
the ex-king’s designs on Caubul. 
(Resident at Delhi to Capt. Wade, 
3d Feb., 1829.) [The Rev. Mr. 
Wolff should be included among the 
travellers in Central Asia at the time 
in question.] 

|| Capt. Wade to Government, 
19th May, and 3d July, 1832. 

II Capt. Wade to Government, 
9 th July, 1832, and 17th Jan., 1833. 
[Col. Wade in the Narrative of his 
Services, p. 23. note, regards these 
overtures of Dost Mahomed, and also 
the increased interest of Russia and 
Persia in Afghan affairs, to Lieut. 
Burnes’ Journey (to Bokhara, in 
1832) and to Shah Shooja’s designs.] 

** Government to Capt. Wade, 
28th Feb., 1833. 


Chap. VII] 


DOST MAHOMED. 


213 


rukzaees. Shah Shooja had defeated the Sindhians 
and had arrived in force at Candahar, and the brothers 
once again endeavored to bring themselves within the 
verge of British supremacy. They had heard of En¬ 
glish arts as well as of English arms ; they knew that all 
were accessible of flattery, and Jubbar Khan suddenly 
proposed to send his son to Loodiana, in order, he said, 
that his mind might be improved by European science 
and civilization.* But Jubbar Khan, while he appeared 
to adhere to Dost Mahomed rather than to others, had 
nevertheless an ambition of his own, and he was more 
than suspected of a wish to make his admiration of the 
amenities of English life the means of acquiring political 
power, t Thus, doubtful of all about him, Dost Ma¬ 
homed left Caubul to oppose Shah Shooja, hut the 
Sikhs had, in the meantime, occupied Peshawur, and 
the perplexed ruler grasped once more at British aid as 
his only sure resource, t He tendered his submission 
as a dependent of Great Britain, and having thus en¬ 
deavored to put his dominions in trust, he gave Shah 
Shooja battle. But the Shah was defeated, and the 
rejoicing victor forgot his difficulties. He declared 
war against the Sikhs on account of their capture of 
Peshawur, and he endeavored to make it a religious 
contest by rousing the population generally to destroy 
infidel invaders. § He assumed the proud distinction 
of “ Ghazee,” or champion of the faith, and the vague 
title of “ Ameer,” which he interpreted “ the noble,” 
for he did not care to wholly offend his brothers, whose 
submission he desired, and whose assistance was neces¬ 
sary to him. || 

Dost Mahomed Khan, amid all his exultation, was 
still willing to use the intervention of unbelievers as 
well as the arms of the faithful, and he asked the En- 


1834. 


prehensive 
of Shah 
Shooja, 
again press 
for an al. 
liance with 
the English; 

and Jubbar 
Khan sends 
his son to 
Loodiana, 

6 th May, 
1834. 


Dost Ma¬ 
homed 
formally 
tenders his 
allegiance 
to the 
English, 

1st July, 
1834; 
but defeats 
Shah Shooja 
and re¬ 
covers con¬ 
fidence. 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 
9th March, 1834. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 
17th May, 1834. Compare Masson, 
Journeys , iii. 218. 220. 


x Capt. Wade to Government, 
17th June, 1834. 

§ Capt. Wade to Government, 
25th Sept., 1834. 

|| Capt. Wade to Government, 
27th Jan., 1835. 


Dost Ma¬ 
homed at¬ 
tempts to 
recover 
Peshawur. 


214 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chaf. VII. 


1835. 


The En¬ 
glish de¬ 
cline inter¬ 
fering. 


Runjeet 
Singh and 
Dost Ma- 


glish masters of India to help him in recovering Pesha- 
wur. # The youth who had been sent to Loodiana to 
become a student, was invested with the powers of a 
diplomatist, and the Ameer sought to prejudice the 
British authorities against the Sikhs, by urging that 
his nephew and their guest had been treated with sus¬ 
picion, and had suffered restraint on his way across the 
Punjab. But the English had not yet thought of re¬ 
quiring him to be an ally for purposes of their own, 
and Dost Mahomed was simply assured that the son of 
Nuwab Jubbar Khan should be well taken care of on 
the eastern side of the Sutlej. A direct reply to his 
solicitation was avoided, by enlarging on the partial 
truth that the Afghans were a commercial people 
equally with the English, and on the favorite scheme 
of the great traffickers of the world, the opening of 
the Indus to commerce. It was hoped, it was added, 
that the new impulse given to trade would better help 
the two governments to cultivate a profitable friendship, 
and the wondering Ameer, full of warlike schemes, was 
naively asked, whether he had any suggestions to offer 
about a direct route for merchandize between Caubul 
and the great boundary river of the Afghans ! t The 
English rulers had also to reply to Runjeet Singh, who 
was naturally suspicious of the increasing intimacy be¬ 
tween his allies and his enemies, and who desired that 
the European lords might appear rather as his than as 
Dost Mahomed’s supporters ; but the Governor General 
observed that any endeavors to mediate would lead to 
consequences seriously embarrassing, and that Dost Ma¬ 
homed would seem to have interpreted general profes¬ 
sions of amity into promises of assistance, t 

The two parties were thus left to their own means. 
Runjeet Singh began by detaching Sooltan Mahomed 


* Capt. Wade to Government, June, 1834, and the original intention 
4th Jan. and 13th Feb., 1835. of sending him to study at Delhi, was 

■f Government to Capt. Wade, abandoned. 

19th April, 1834, and 11th Feb., f Government to Capt. Wade, 
1835. Abdool Gheias Khan, the son 20th April, 1835. 
of Jubbar Khan, reached Loodiana in 


Chap. VII.] RETREAT OF DOST MAHOMED. 


215 


Khan from the Ameer, with whom he had sought a re¬ 
fuge on the occupation of Peshawur by the Sikhs ; and 
the ejected tributary listened the more readily to the 
Muharaja’s propositions, as he apprehended that Dost 
Mahomed would retain Peshawur for himself, should 
Runjeet Singh be beaten. Dost Mahomed came to the 
eastern entrance of the Khyber Pass, and Runjeet 
Singh amused him with proposals until he had concen¬ 
trated his forces. On the 11th of May, 1835, the 
Ameer was almost surrounded. He was to have been 
attacked on the 12th, but he thought it prudent to re¬ 
treat, which he did with the loss of two guns and some 
baggage. He had designed to carry off the Sikh en¬ 
voys, and to profit by their presence as hostages or as 
prisoners ; but his brother, Sooltan Mahomed Khan, to 
whom the execution of the project had been entrusted, 
had determined on joining Runjeet Singh, and the 
rescue of the agents gave him a favorable introduction 
to the victor. Sooltan Mahomed and his brothers had 
considerable Jagheers conferred on them in the Pesha¬ 
wur district, but the military control and civil manage¬ 
ment of the province was vested solely in an officer 
appointed from Lahore. 5 * 

Dost Mahomed suffered much in general estimation 
by withdrawing from an encounter with the Sikhs. 
His hopes in the English had not borne fruit, and he 
was disposed to court Persia t; but the connection was 
of less political credit and utility than one with the En¬ 
glish, and he tried once more to move the Governor 
General in his favor. The Sikhs, he said, were 
faithless, and he was wholly devoted to the interests of 
the British Government.^ The Candahar brothers, 


1835,1836. 

homed in 
force at 
Peshawur, 
1835. 


Dost Ma¬ 
homed re¬ 
tires rather 
than risk a 
battle, 11th 
May, 1835. 


Dost Ma¬ 
homed looks 
towards 
Persia, but 
still prefers 
an English 
alliance, 
1836. 


The Can- 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 25th 
April, and 1st, 15th, and 19th May, 
1835. Compare Masson, Journeys , 
iii. 342, &c. ; Mohun Lai’s Life of 
Dost Mahomed, i. 172, &c.; and also 
Dr. Harlan’s India and Afghanistan, 
p. 124. 158. Dr. Harlan himself 
was one of the envoys sent to Dost 
Mahomed on the occasion. 


The Sikhs are commonly said to 
have had 80,000 men in the Peshawur 
valley at this time. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 23rd 
Feb., 1836. Dost Mahomed’s over¬ 
tures to Persia seem to have com¬ 
menced in Sept., 1835. 

J Capt. Wade to Government, 19th 
July, 1836. 


216 


HISTORY OR THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII, 


1836,1837. 


dahar chiefs 
desirous of 
English aid. 
Runjeet 
Singh en¬ 
deavors to 
gain over 
Dost Ma¬ 
homed. 


But the 
Ameer pre¬ 
fers war, 
1836-37. 

Hurree 
Singh’s de¬ 
signs. 


Battle of 
Jumrood, 
30th April, 
1837. 

The Sikhs 
defeated, 
and Hurree 
Singh 

killed ; but 
the Afghans 
retire. 


also, being pressed by Shah Kamran of Heerat, and 
unable to obtain aid from Dost Mahomed, made propo¬ 
sitions to the English authorities; but Kamran’s own 
apprehensions of Persia soon relieved them of their fears, 
and they did not press their solicitations for European 
aid.* Runjeet Singh, on his part, disliked an English 
and Afghan alliance, and sought to draw Dost Mahomed 
within the vortex of his own influence. He gave the 
Ameer vague hopes of obtaining Peshawur, and he 
asked him to send him some horses, which he had learnt 
was a sure way of leading others to believe they had 
won his favor. Dost Mahomed was not unwilling to 
obtain a hold on Peshawur, even as a tributary, but he 
felt that the presentation of horses would be declared 
by the Sikh to refer to Caubul and not to that pro¬ 
vince.! The disgrace of his retreat rankled in his 
mind, and he at last said that a battle must be fought at 
all risks.! He was the more inclined to resort to arms, 
as the Sikhs had sounded his brother, Jubbar Khan, and 
as Sirdar Hurree Singh had occupied the entrance of 
the Khyber Pass and entrenched a position at Jumrood, 
as the basis of his scheme for getting through the for¬ 
midable defile. § The Caubul troops marched and 
assembled on the eastern side of Khyber, under the 
command of Mahomed Akber Khan, the most warlike 
of the Ameer’s sons. An attack was made on the post 
at Jumrood, on the 30th of April, 1837 j but the Af¬ 
ghans could not carry it, although they threw the Sikhs 
into disorder. Hurree Singh, by feigning a retreat, 
drew the enemy more fully into the plains ; the brave 
leader was present every where amid his retiring and 
rallying masses, but he fell mortally wounded, and 
the opportune arrival of another portion of the Caubul 
forces converted the confusion of the Sikhs into a total 
defeat. But two guns only were lost; the Afghans 

* Capt. Wade to Government, 9th f Capt. Wade to Government, 1st 
March, 1836. May, 1837. 

f Capt. Wade to Government, 12th § Capt. Wade to Government, 13th 
April, 1837. Jan., 1837. 


Chap. VII.] DOST MAHOMED AND SHAH SHOOJA. 


217 


could not master Jumrood or Peshawur itself, and, after 
plundering the valley for a few days, they retreated 
rather than risk a second battle with the reinforced 
army of Lahore.* 

The death of Hurree Singh and the defeat of his 
army caused some anxiety in Lahore; but the Muha- 
raja promptly roused his people to exertion, and all 
readily responded to his call. It is stated that field 
guns were dragged from Ramnuggur, on the Chenab, to 
Peshawur, in six days, a distance by road of more 
than two hundred miles.t Runjeet Singh advanced in 
person to Rhotas, and the active Dhian Singh hastened 
to the frontier, and set an example of devotion and 
labor by working with his own hands on the founda¬ 
tions of a regular fort at Jumrood.t Dost Mahomed 
was buoyed up by his fruitless victory, and he became 
more than ever desirous of recovering a province so 
wholly Afghan ; but Runjeet Singh contrived to amuse 
him, and the Muharaja was found to be again in treaty 
with the Ameer, and again in treaty with Shah Shooja, 
and with both at the same time. § But the commercial 
envoy of the English had gradually sailed high up the 
Indus of their imaginary commerce, and to his govern¬ 
ment the time seemed to have come when political inter¬ 
ference would no longer be embarrassing, but, on the 
contrary, highly advantageous to schemes of peaceful 
trade and beneficial intercourse. It was made known 


* Capt, Wade to Government, 13th 
and 23rd May, and 5th July, 1837. 
Compare Masson, Journeys , iii. 382. 
387., and Mohun Lai’s Life of Dost 
Mahomed , i. 226. &c. 

It seems that the Afghans were at 
first routed or repulsed with the loss 
of some guns, but that the opportune 
arrival of Shumsooddeen Khan, a re¬ 
lation of the Ameer, with a consi¬ 
derable detachment, turned the battle 
in their favor. It is nevertheless 
believed that had not Hurree Singh 
been killed, the Sikhs would have 
retrieved the day. The troops in the 
Peshawur valley had been conside¬ 
rably reduced by the withdrawal of 


large parties to Lahore, to make a 
display on the occasion of Nao Nihal 
Singh’s marriage, and of the expected 
visit of the English Governor General 
and Commander-in-chief. 

f Lieut. Col. Steinbach ( Punjab , 
p. 64. 68.) mentions that he had 
himself marched with his Sikh regi¬ 
ment 300 miles in twelve days, and 
that the distance had been performed 
by others in eleven. 

| Mr. Clerk’s Memorandum of 
1842, regarding the Sikh chiefs, drawn 
up for Lord Ellenborough. 

§ Compare Capt. Wade to Govern¬ 
ment, 3rd June, 1837, and Government 
to Capt, Wade, 7th Aug., 1837. 


137. 


Runjeet 
Singh’s 
efforts to 
retrieve his 
affairs at 
Peshawur. 


His nego¬ 
tiations 
with Dost 
Mahomed 
and Shah 
Shooja. 


The English 
resolve on 
mediating 
between the 
Sikhs and 
Afghans, 
1837 ; 


218 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1837 . that the British rulers would be glad to he the means of 

v - v -' negotiating a peace honorable to both parties, yet the 

scale was turned in favor of the Afghan, by the simul¬ 
taneous admission that Peshawur was a place to which 
Dost Mahomed could scarcely be expected to resign all 
claim.* Nevertheless, it was said, the wishes of 
Runjeet Singh could he ascertained by Captain Wade, 
and Captain Burnes could similarly inquire about the 
views of the Ameer. The latter officer was formally 
invested with diplomatic powers t, and the idle de- 
the more signs, or restless intrigues, of Persians and Russians, 
as^they^are soon caused the disputes of Sikhs and Afghans to 
apprehen- merge in the British scheme of reseating Shah Shooja 
Russia, 011 the throne of Caubul. At the end of a generation 
the repose of the English masters of India was again 
disturbed by the rumored march of European armiest, 
and their suspicions were further roused by the conduct 
and are fur- of the French general, Allard. That officer, after a 
satisfied" residence of several years in the Punjab, had been 
with the enabled to visit his native country, and lie returned by 
ofGeneraf wa y Calcutta in the year 1836. While in France 
Aiiard. he had induced his government to give him a document, 
accrediting him to Runjeet Singh, in case his life 
should he endangered, or in case he should be refused 
permission to quit the Lahore dominions. It was un¬ 
derstood by the English that the paper was only to be 
produced to the Muharaja in an extremity of the kind 
mentioned ; but General Allard himself considered that 
it was only to be so laid in form before the English 
authorities , in support of a demand for aid when he 
might chance to be straitened. He at once delivered 
his credentials to the Sikh ruler ; it was rumored that 
General Allard had become a French ambassador, and 


* Government to Capt. Wade, 31st 
July, 1837. 

t Government to Capt. Wade, 11th 
Sept., 1837. 

t The idea of Russian designs on 
India engaged the attention of the 
British viceroy in 1831 (see Murray’s 


Runjeet Singh, by Prinsep, p. 168.), 
and it at the same time possessed the 
inquiring but sanguine mind of Capt. 
Burnes, who afterwards gave the 
notion so much notoriety. (SeeCapt. 
Wade to Government, 3rd Aug., 
1831.) 


Chap. VII.] MARRIAGE OF NAO NIHAL SINGH. 


219 


it was some time before the British authorities forgave 
the fancied deceit, or the vain effrontery of their guest.* 
Runjeet Singh had invited the Governor General of 
India, the Governor of Agra (Sir Charles Metcalfe), 
and the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces to 
be present at the nuptials of his grandson, which he 
designed to celebrate with much splendor. The prince 
was wedded to a daughter of the Sikh chief, Sham 
Singh Atareewala, in the beginning of March 1837? 
but of the English authorities Sir Henry Fane alone was 
able to attend. That able commander was ever a care¬ 
ful observer of military means and of soldierly qualities; 
he formed an estimate of the force which would be re¬ 
quired for the complete subjugation of the Punjab, but 
at the same time he laid it down as a principle, that 
the Sutlej and the wastes of Rajpootana and Sindh, 
were the best boundaries which the English could have 
in the east.t The prospect of a war with the Sikhs 


1837. 


The mar¬ 
riage of 
Nao Nihal 
Singh, 
1837. 


Sir Henry- 
Fane at 
Lahore. 


* The author gives what the 
French officers held to be the intended 
use of the credentials, on the compe¬ 
tent authority of General Ventura, 
with whom he formerly had conver¬ 
sations on the subject. The English 
view, however, is that which was 
taken by the British ambassador in 
Paris, as well as by the authorities in 
Calcutta, with whom General Allard 
was in personal communication. ( Go¬ 
vernment to Capt. Wade, 16th Jan. 
and 3rd April, 1837.) 

Of the two views, that of the En¬ 
glish is the less honorable, with 
reference to their duty towards Run¬ 
jeet Singh, who might have justly 
resented any attempt on the part of a 
servant to put himself beyond the 
power of his master, and any inter¬ 
ference in that servant's behalf on the 
part of the British Government. 

In the letter to Runjeet Singh, 
Louis Philippe is styled, in French, 
“ Empereur” (Capt. Wade to Go¬ 
vernment, 15th Sept., 1837); a title 
which, at the time, may have pleased 
the vanity of the French, although it 
could not have informed the under¬ 
standings of the Sikhs, as, agreeably 


to Persian and Indian practice, king 
or queen is always translated “ Pad¬ 
shah” equally with emperor. [Sir 
Claude Wade seems to think that the 
real design of the French was to open 
a regular intercourse with Runjeet 
Singh, and to obtain a political in¬ 
fluence in the Punjab. The Muha- 
raja, however, after consulting the 
British Agent, decided on not taking 
any notice of the overtures. (Sir 
Claude Wade’s Narrative , p. 38. 
note.)] 

f These views of Sir Henry Fane’s 
may not be on record, but they were 
well known to those about his Excel¬ 
lency. His estimate was, as I re¬ 
member to have heard from Capt. 
Wade, 67,000 men, and he thought 
there might be a two years’ active 
warfare. 

This visit to Lahore was perhaps 
mainly useful in enabling Lieut.-Col. 
Garden, the indefatigable quarler- 
master-general of the Bengal Army, 
to compile a detailed map of that 
part of the country, and which 
formed the groundwork of all the 
maps used when hostilities did at last 
break out with the Sikhs. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


220 


1837. 

The Sikh 
military 
order of 
the Star. 


Runjeet 
Singh’s ob¬ 
ject the 
gratification 
of his 
guests and 
allies. 


Anecdotes 
showing a 
similar 
purpose. 


was then remote, and hostile designs could not with 
honor be entertained by a guest. Sir Henry Fane, 
therefore, entered heartily into the marriage festivities 
of Lahore, and his active mind was amused with giving 
shape to a scheme, which the intuitive sagacity of Run¬ 
jeet Singh had acquiesced in as pleasing to the just 
pride or useful vanity of English soldiers. The project 
of establishing an Order of merit similar to those dying 
exponents of warlike skill and chivalrous fraternity 
among European nations, had been for some time 
entertained, and although such a system of distinction 
can be adapted to the genius of any people, the object 
of the Muharaja was simply to gratify his English 
neighbors, and advantage was accordingly taken of 
Sir Henry Fane’s presence to establish the “ Order of 
the auspicious Star of the Punjab” on a purely British 
model.* This method of pleasing, or occupying the 
attention of the English authorities, was not unusual 
with Runjeet Singh, and he was always ready to inquire 
concerning matters which interested them, or which 
might be turned to account by himself. He would ask 
for specimens of, and for information about, the manu¬ 
facture of Sambhur salt and Malwa opium, t So early 
as 1812 he had made trial of the sincerity of his new 
allies, or had shown his admiration of their skill, by 
asking for five hundred muskets. These were at once 
furnished to him ; but a subsequent request for a supply 
of fifty thousand such weapons, excited a passing sus¬ 
picion. t He readily entered into a scheme of freighting 
a number of boats with merchandize for Bombay, and 
he was praised for the interest he took in commerce, 
until it was known that he wished the return cargo to 
consist of arms for his infantry. § He would have his 
artillerymen learn gunnery at Loodiana ||, and he would 


* Capt. Wade to Government, 7th 
April, 1837. 

f Capt. Wade to the Resident at 
Delhi, ‘2nd Jan., 1831, and to Govern¬ 
ment, 25th Dec., 1835. 


f Capt. Wade to Government, 22nd 
July, 1836. 

§ Compare Government to Capt. 
Wade, 11th Sept., 1837. 

|| Capt. Wade to Government, 7th 
Dec., 1831. 


Chap. VII.] ANECDOTES OF RUNJEET SINGH. 


221 


send shells of zinc to be inspected in the hope that he 1837 . 
might receive some hints about the manufacture of iron 1 * ' 

shrapnells.* He would inquire about the details of 
European warfare, and he sought for copies of the pay- 
regulations of the Indian army and of the English prac¬ 
tice of courts martial, and bestowed dresses of honor 
on the translator of these complicated and inapplicable 
systems t; while, to further satisfy himself, he would 
ask what punishment had been found an efficient sub¬ 
stitute for flogging.t He sent a lad, the relation of 
one of his chiefs, to learn English at the Loodiana 
school, in order, he said, that the youth might aid him 
in his correspondence with the British Government, 
which Lord William Bentinek had wished to carry on 
in the English tongue instead of in Persian §; and he sent 
a number of young men to learn something of medicine 
at the Loodiana dispensary, which had been set on foot by 
the political agent—but in order, theMuharaja said, that 
they might be useful in his battalions. || In such ways, 
half serious, half idle, did Runjeet Singh endeavor to 
ingratiate himself with the representatives of a power 
he could not withstand and never wholly trusted. 

Runjeet Singh’s rejoicings over the marriage and The British 
vouthful promise of his grandson were rudely inter- schei y eof 

J ill © t l opening the 

rupted by the success of the Afghans at Jumrood, and Indus to 
the death of his able leader Hurree Singh, as has been co ™ er ce 
already related. The old man was moved to tears project of 
when he heard of the fate of the only genuine Sikh g e h s ^ nng 


* When the restoration of Shah 
Shooja was resolved on, Runjeet 
Singh sent shells to Loodiana to be 
looked at and commented on, as if, 
being engaged in one political cause, 
there should not be any reserve about 
military secrets ! 

f Major Hough, who has added to 
the reputation of the Indian army by 
his useful publications, put the prac¬ 
tice of courts martial into a Sikh dress 
for Runjeet Singh. (Government to 
Capt. Wade, 21st November, 1834.) 

j: Government to Capt. Wade, 18th 
May, 1835, intimating that solitary 


Shooja. 

confinement had been found a good 
substitute. 

§ Capt. Wade to Government, 11th 
April, 1835. Some of the princes of 
India, all of whom are ever prone to 
suspicion, were not without a belief 
that, by writing in English, it was 
designed to keep them in ignorance of 
the real views and declarations of 
their paramount. 

|| Some of these young men were 
employed with the force raised 
at Peshawur, in 1839, to enable 
Prince Tymoor to march through 
Khyber. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap.VII. 


222 


1837 - chief of his creation* ; and he had scarcely vindicated 
his supremacy on the frontier, by filling- the valley of 
Peshawur with troops, when the English interfered to 
embitter the short remainder of his life, and to set 
bounds to his ambition on the west, as they had already 
done on the east and south. The commercial policy of 
the British people required that peace and industry 
should at once be introduced among the half-barbarous 
tribes of Sindh, Khorassan, and the Punjab ; and it 
was vainly sought to give fixed limits to newly-founded 
feudal governments, and to impress moderation of 
desire upon grasping military sovereigns. It was 
wished that Runjeet Singh should be content with his 
past achievements ; that the Ameers of Sindh, and the 
chiefs of Heerat, Candahar, and Caubul should feel 
themselves secure in what they held, but incapable of 
obtaining more ; and that the restless Shah Shooja 
should quietly abandon all hope of regaining the crown 
of his daily dreams, t These w T ere the views which 
the English viceroy required his agents to impress on 
Talpoors, Barukzaees, and Sikhs ; and their imprac¬ 
ticability might have quietly and harmlessly become 
apparent, had not Russia found reason and opportunity 
to push her intrigues, through Persia and Toorkistan, 
to the banks of the Indus, t The desire of effecting a 
reconciliation between Runjeet Singh and Dost Ma¬ 
homed induced the British Government to offer its 

* Capt. Wade to Government, 13th a reservation, or of the expression of 
May, 1837, quoting Dr. Wood, a a right he did not possess. (Govern- 
surgeon in the British army, tempo- ment to Capt. Wade, 25th Sept., 
rarily deputed to attend on Runjeet and 13th Nov., 1837.) 

Singh, and who was with his camp at j: Without reference to the settled 
Rhotas on this occasion. policy of Russia, or to what she may 

f Compare Government to Capt. always have thought of the virtual 
Wade, 13th Nov., 1837, and to Capt. supportwhich England gives to Persia 
Burnes and Capt. Wade, both of and Turkey against her power, the pre- 
the 20th January, 1838. With re- sence of inquiring agents in Khoras- 
gard to Sindh, also, the views of san and Toorkistan, and the progres- 
Runjeet Singh were not held to be sive extension of the British Indian 
pleasing, and the terms of his com- dominion, must have put her on the 
munication with the Ameers were alert, if they did not fill her with 
thought equivocal, or denotative of reasonable suspicions. 


Chap. VII.] ENGLISH POLICY ERRONEOUS. 


223 


mediation* ; the predilections of its frank and enter- 
prizing envoy led him to seize upon the admission that 
the Ameer could scarcely be expected to resign all pre¬ 
tensions to Peshawur. t The crafty chief made use of 
this partiality, and of the fact that his friendship was 
courted, to try and secure himself against the only 
power he really feared, viz. that of the Sikhs ; and 
he renewed his overtures to Persia and welcomed a 
Russian emissary, with the view of intimidating the 
English into the surrender of Peshawur, and into a gua¬ 
rantee against Runjeet Singh. Friendly assurances to 
the Candahar brothers, and a hint that the Sikhs were 
at liberty to march on Caubul, would have given Dost 
Mahomed a proper sense of his insignificance t ; hut 
the truth and the importance of his hostile designs 
were both believed or assumed by the British Govern¬ 
ment, while the rumors of a northern invasion were 
eagerly received and industriously spread by the van¬ 
quished princes of India, and the whole country vi¬ 
brated with the hope that the uncongenial domination 
of the English was about to yield to the ascendancy of 
another and less dissimilar race.§ The recall of Cap- 


* Government to Capt. Wade, 
31st July, 1837. 

j- These predilections of Sir Alex. 
Burnes, and the hopes founded on 
them by Dost Mahomed, were suffi¬ 
ciently notorious to those in personal 
communication with that valuable 
pioneer of the English; and his 
strong wish to recover Peshawur, at 
least for Sooltan Mahomed Khan, is 
distinctly stated in his own words, in 
Masson’s Journeys (iii. 423.). The 
idea of taking the district from the 
Sikhs, either for Dost Mahomed or 
his brothers, is moreover apparent 
from Sir Alex. Burnes’ published 
letters, of 5th Oct. 1837, and 26th 
Jan. and 13th March, 1838 (Parlia¬ 
mentary Papers, 1839), from the Go¬ 
vernment replies of remark and cau¬ 
tion, dated 20th Jan., and especially 
of 27th April, 1838, and from Mr. 
Masson’s statements ( Journeys , iii. 


423. 448.). Mr. Masson himself 

thought it would be but justice to 
restore the district to Sooltan Moha- 
med Khan, while Moonshee Mohun 
Lai (Life of Dost Mahomed, i. 257, 
&c.) represents the Ameer to have 
thought that the surrender of Pesh¬ 
awur to his brother, would have been 
more prejudicial to his interests than 
its retention by the Sikhs. 

| Such were Capt. Wade’s views, 
and they are sketched in his letters of 
the 15th May, and 2Sth Oct., 1837, 
with reference to commercial objects, 
although the line of policy may not 
have been steadily adhered to, or 
fully developed. 

§ The extent to which this feeling 
was prevalent is known to those who 
were observers of Indian affairs at 
the time, and it is dwelt upon in the 
Governor General’s minute of the 
20th Aug., 1839. 


1837,1838. 


Sir Alex. 
Burnes at 
Caubul, 
1837-38. 


Dost Ma¬ 
homed 
eventually 
falls into 
the views of 
Persia and 
Russia. 


The origi¬ 
nal policy of 
the English 
erroneous. 



HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


224 

1838. 


But, under 
the circum¬ 
stances 
brought 
about, the 
expedition 
to Caubul 
wisely and 
boldly con¬ 
ceived. 


Negotia¬ 
tions re¬ 
garding the 
restoration 
of Shah 
Shooja, 
May, July, 
1838. 


tain Burnes from Caubul gave speciousness to the 
wildest statements ; the advantage of striking some 
great blow became more and more obvious ; for the 
sake of consistency it was necessary to maintain peace 
on the Indus, and it was wisely resolved to make a 
triumphant progress through Central Asia, and to 
leave Shah Shooja as a dependent prince on his 
ancestral throne. The conception was bold and perfect; 
and had it been steadily adhered to, the whole project 
would have eminently answered the ends intended, and 
would have been, in every way, worthy of the English 
name.* 

In the beginning of 1838 the Governor General did 
not contemplate the restoration of Shah Shoojat ; but 
in four months the scheme was adopted, and in May of 
that year Sir William Macnaghten was sent to Runjeet 
Singh to unfold the views of the British Government.t 
The Muharaja grasped at the first idea which presented 
itself, of making use of the Shah at the head of his 


* The Governor General’s minute 
of 12th May, 1 838, and his declara¬ 
tion of the 1st October, of the same 
year, may be referred to as summing 
up the views which moved the 
British Government on the occasion. 
Both were published by order of 
parliament in March, 1 839. 

f Government to Capt. Wade, 
20th January, 1838. 

\ The proximate cause of the re¬ 
solution to restore Shah Shooja, was, 
of course, the preference given by 
Dost Mahomed to a Persian and 
Russian over a British alliance, and 
the immediate object of deputing Sir 
W. Macnaghten to Lahore, was to 
make Runjeet Singh as much as pos¬ 
sible a party to the policy adopted. 
(See, among other letters, Govern¬ 
ment to Capt. Wade, 15th May, 
1838.) The deputation crossed into 
the Punjab at Rooper on the 20th 
May. It remained some time at 
Adeenanuggur, and afterwards went 
to Lahore. The first interview with 
Runjeet Singh was on the 31st May, 


the last on the 13th July. Sir Wil¬ 
liam Macnaghten recrossed the Sutlej 
at Loodiana on the 15th July, and 
on that and the following day he 
arranged with Shah Shooja in person 
the terms of his restoration. 

Two months before the deputation 
waited upon Runjeet Singh, he had 
visited Jummoo for apparently the 
first time in his life, and the same 
may be regarded as the last in which 
the worn-out prince tasted of unal¬ 
loyed happiness. Golab Singh re¬ 
ceived his sovereign with every de¬ 
monstration of loyalty, and, bowing to 
the Muharaja’s feet, he laid before 
him presents worth nearly forty 
thousand pounds, saying he was the 
humblest of his slaves, and the most 
grateful of those on whom he had 
heaped favors. Runjeet Singh shed 
tears, but afterwards pertinently ob¬ 
served that, in Jummoo, gold might 
be seen where formerly there was 
nought but stones. (Major Macke- 
son’s letter to Capt. Wade, of 31st 
March, 1838). 



Chap. VII.] DISSATISFACTION OF RUNJEET SINGH. 


225 


armies, with the proclaimed support of the paramount ^ 38 - 
power in India; but he disliked the complete view of Run j eet 
the scheme, and the active cooperation of his old allies. Si " § jJ ^ is " 
It chafed him that he was to resign all hope of Shikar- but finally 
poor, and that he was to be inclosed within the iron assents, 
arms of the English rule. He suddenly broke up his 
camp at Adeenanuggur, leaving the British envoys to 
follow at their leisure, or to return, if they pleased, to 
Simlah; and it was not until he was told the expedition 
would be undertaken whether he chose to share in it or 
not, that he assented to a modification of his own treaty 
with Shah Shooja, and that the triple alliance was 
formed for the subversion of the power of the Baruk- 
zaees.* The English, on their part, insisted on a double 
invasion of Afghanistan : first, because the Ameers of 
Sindh disliked a proffered treaty of alliance or depen¬ 
dence, and they could conveniently be coerced as tribu¬ 
taries by Shah Shooja on his way to Candahar ; and, 
secondly, because it was not deemed prudent to place 
the ex-king in the hands of Runjeet Singh, who might 
be tempted to use him for Sikh rather than for British 
objects, t It was therefore arranged that the Shah 


* That Runjeet Singh was told 
he would be left out if he did not 
choose to come in, does not ap¬ 
pear on public record. It was, how¬ 
ever, the only convincing argument 
used during the long discussions, and 
I think Major Mackeson was made 
the bearer of the message to that 
effect. 

f Compare the Governor General’s 
minute of 12th of May, 1838, and his 
instructions to Sir William Mac- 
naghten of the 15th of the same 
month, liunjeet Singh was anxious 
to get something lasting and tangible 
as his share of the profit of the expe¬ 
dition, and he wanted Jellalabad, as 
there seemed to be a difficulty about 
Shikarpoor. The Muharaja got, in¬ 
deed, a subsidy of two hundred thou¬ 
sand rupees a year from the Shah 
for the use of his troops; a conces¬ 


sion which did not altogether satisfy 
the Governor General (see letter to 
Sir William Macnaghten, 2nd July, 
1838), and the article became, in fact, 
a dead letter. 

The idea of creating a friendly 
power in Afghanistan, by guiding 
Runjeet Singh upon Caubul, seems 
to have been seriously entertained, 
and it was a scheme which promised 
many solid advantages. Compare 
the Governor General’s minute, 12th 
May, 1838, the author’s abstract of 
which differs somewhat from the copy 
printed by order of parliament in 
1839, and Mr. Masson ( Journeys , iii. 
487, 488.) who refers to a communi¬ 
cation from Sir William Macnaghten 
on the subject. For the treaty about 
the restoration of Shah Shooja, see 
Appendix XXX. 


Q 


226 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1838. 


Runjeet 
Singh ap¬ 
parently at 
the height 
of great¬ 
ness ; 
hut chafed 
in mind, 
and en¬ 
feebled in 
health. 


himself should march by way of Shikarpoor and Quetta, 
while his son moved on Caubul by the road of Pesha- 
wur, and at the head of a force provided by the Muha- 
raja of the Punjab. The British force assembled at 
Feerozpoor towards the close of 1838, and further eclat 
was given to the opening of a memorable campaign, by 
an interchange of hospitalities between the English 
viceroy and the Sikh ruler.* Ostensibly Runjeet Singh 
had reached the summit of his ambition; he was ac¬ 
knowledged to be an arbiter in the fate of that empire 
which had tyrannized over his peasant forefathers, and 
he was treated with the greatest distinction by the 
foreign paramounts of India : but his health had become 
seriously impaired ; he felt that he was in truth fairly in 
collision with the English, and he became indifferent 
about the careful fulfilment of the engagements into 
which he had entered. Shazada Tymoor marched 
from Lahore in January, 1839, accompanied by Colonel 
Wade as the British representative ; but it was with 
difficulty the stipulated auxiliary force was got together 
at Peshawur, and although a considerable army at last 
encamped in the valley, the commander, the Muharaja’s 
grandson, thwarted the negotiations of Prince Tymoor 
and the English agent, by endeavoring to gain friends 
for Lahore rather than for the proclaimed sovereign of 
the Afghans.t Runjeet Singh’s health continued to 


* At one of the several meetings 
which took place on this occasion, 
there was an interchange of compli¬ 
ments, which may be noticed. Run¬ 
jeet Singh likened the friendship of 
the two states to an apple, the red and 
yellow colors of which were, he said, 
so blended, that although the sem¬ 
blance was twofold the reality was 
one. Lord Auckland replied that the 
Muharaja’s simile was very happy, 
inasmuch as red and yellow were the 
national colors of the English and 
Sikhs respectively; to which Runjeet 
Singh rejoined in the same strain that 
the comparison was indeed in every 
way appropriate, for the friendship of 
the two powers was, like the apple, 


fair and delicious. The translations 
were given in English and Oordoo 
with elegance and emphasis by Sir 
William Macnaghten and Fukeer 
Uzeezooddeen, both of whom were 
masters, although in different ways, 
of language, whether written or 
spoken. 

f See, among other letters, Capt. 
Wade to Government, 18th Aug., 
1839. For some interesting details 
regarding Capt. Wade’s military 
proceedings, see Lieut. Barr’s pub¬ 
lished Journal; and for the diplomatic 
history, so to speak, of his mission, 
see Moonshee Shahamut Alee’s Sikhs 
and Afghans . 


Chap. VII.] DEATH OE RUNJEET SINGII. 


227 


decline. He heard of the fall of Candahar in April, and 
the delay at that place may have served to cheer his 
vexed spirit with the hope that the English would yet 
be baffled; but he died on the ^7th of June, at the age 
of fifty-nine, before the capture of Ghuznee and the occu¬ 
pation of Caubul, and the forcing of the Khyber Pass 
with the aid of his own troops, placed the seal of success 
on a campaign in which he was an unwilling sharer. 

Runjeet Singh found the Punjab a waning confe¬ 
deracy, a prey to the factions of its chiefs, pressed by 
the Afghans and the Mahrattas, and ready to sub¬ 
mit to English supremacy. He consolidated the nu¬ 
merous petty states into a kingdom, he wrested from 
Caubul the fairest of its provinces, and he gave the 
potent English no cause for interference. He found 
the military array of his country a mass of horsemen, 
brave indeed, but ignorant of war as an art, and he 
left it mustering fifty thousand disciplined soldiers, 
fifty thousand well-armed yeomanry and militia, and 
more than three hundred pieces of cannon for the field. 
His rule was founded on the feelings of a people, but 
it involved the joint action of the necessary principles 
of military order and territorial extension ; and when 
a limit had been set to Sikh dominion, and his own 
commanding genius was no more, the vital spirit of 
his race began to consume itself in domestic conten¬ 
tions.* 


* In 1831, Capt. Murray estimated 
the Sikh revenue at little more than 
millions sterling, and the army at 
82,000 men, including 15,000 regular 
infantry and 376 guns. (Murray’s 
Runjeet Singh, by Prinsep, p. 185, 
186.) In the same year Capt. Burnes 
(Travels , i. 289. 291.), gives the 
revenue at 2£ millions, and the army 
at 75,000, including 25,000 regular 
infantry. Mr. Masson ( Journeys , i. 
430.) gives the same revenue ; but 
fixes the army at 70,000 men, of 
whom 20,000 were disciplined. This 
may be assumed as an estimate of 


1838, when Mr. Masson returned 
from Caubul. In 1845, Lieut.-Col. 
Steinbach ( Punjab , p. 58.) states the 
army to have amounted to 110,000 
men, of whom 70,000 were regulars. 
The returns procured for Govern¬ 
ment in 1844, and which cannot be far 
wrong, show that there were upwards 
of 40,000 regularly drilled infantry, 
and a force of about 125,000 men 
in all, maintained with about 375 
guns or field carriages. Compare the 
Calcutta Review, iii. 176.; Dr. Macgre- 
gor’s Sikhs, ii. 86., and Major Smith’s 
Reigning Family of Lahore, appendices, 


1839. 


Death of 

Runjeet 

Singh, 

27 th June, 
1339. 


The politi¬ 
cal con¬ 
dition of 
the Sikhs, 
as modified 
by the 
genius of 
Runjeet 
Singh. 


228 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VII. 


1839. 


The arti¬ 
fices of 
Dhian 
Singh to 
bring about 
the quiet 
succession 
of Khurruk 
Singh. 


When Runjeet Singh was Lord Auckland’s host at 
Lahore and Amritsir, his utterance was difficult, and 
the powers of his body feeble ; he gradually lost the 
use of his speech, and of the faculties of his mind ; and, 
before his death, the Rajas of Jummoo had usurped to 
themselves the whole of the functions of government, 
which the absence of Nao Nihal Singh enabled them 
to do with little difficulty. The army was assembled, 
and a litter, said to contain the dying Muharaja, was 
carried along the extended line. Dhian Singh was 
assiduous in his mournful attentions; he seemed to 
take orders as if from his departing sovereign, and 
from time to time, during the solemn procession, he 
made known that Runjeet Singh declared the Prince 
Khurruk Singh his successor, and himself, Dhian Singh, 
the vuzeer or minister of the kingdom.* The sol¬ 
diery acquiesced in silence, and the British Government 
was perhaps more sincere than the Sikh people in the 
congratulations offered, agreeably to custom, to the new 
and unworthy master of the Punjab. 


p. xxxvii. for estimates, correct in 
some particulars, and moderate in 
others. 

For a statement of the Lahore reve¬ 
nues, see Appendix XXXVIII. ; and 
for a list of the Lahore army, see 
Appendix XXXIX. 

Many descriptions of Runjeet 
Singh’s person and manners have 
been written, of which the fullest is 
perhaps that in Prinsep’s edition of 
Murray’s Life, p. 178., &c. ; while 
Capt. Osborne’s Court and Camp, 
and Col. Lawrence’s Adventurer in 
the Punjab, contain many illustrative 
touches and anecdotes. The only 
good likeness of the Muharaja which 


has been published, is that taken 
by the Hon. Miss Eden; and it, es¬ 
pecially in the original drawing, is 
true and expressive. Runjeet Singh 
was of small stature. When young 
he was dexterous in all manly exer¬ 
cises, but in his old age he became 
weak and inclined to corpulency. 
He lost an eye when a child by the 
small-pox, and the most marked 
characteristic of his mental powers 
was a broad and massive forehead, 
which the ordinary portraits do not 
show. 

* Mr. Clerk’s memorandum of 
1842 for Lord Ellenborough. 



Chap. VIII.] 


KHURRUK SINGH. 


229 


CHAPTER VIII. 

FROM THE DEATH OF MUHARAJA RUNJEET SINGH 
TO THE DEATH OF VUZEER JOWAHIR SINGH. 

1839—1845. 

Khurruk Singh's power usurped by his son Nao Nihdl 
Singh. — Lieut.-Colonel Wade and Mr. Clerk. — Nao 
Nihdl Singh and the Rajas of Jummoo. — The death 
of Khurruk Singh. — The death of Nao Nihdl Singh. 

— Sher Singh proclaimed Muharaja, but the authority 
of sovereign assumed by the mother of Nao Nihdl Singh. 

— Sher Singh gains over the troops and succeeds to 
power. — The army assumes a voice in affairs, and 
becomes an organized political body. — The English 
willing to interfere. — The English undervalue the Sikhs. 

— The Sikhs in Tibet: — opposed by the Chinese, and 
restrained by the English. — The English in Caubul. — 

General Pollock's campaign. — The Sindhcutwala and 
Jummoo families. — The death of Sher Singh. — The 
death of Raja Dhian Singh.—Dhuleep Singh proclaimed 
Muharaja with Heera Singh as Vuzeer. — Unsuccessful 
insurrections. — Pundit Julia's proceedings and views. 

— Heera Singh expelled and slain. — Jowahir Singh 
nominated Vuzeer. — Golab Singh submits. — Peshawura 
Singh in rebellion. — Jowahir Singh put to death by the 
Army. 

The imbecile Khurruk Singh was acknowledged as the 1839 . 
master of the Punjab; but Sher Singh, the reputed Sher Y slng h 
son of the deceased king, at once urged his superior claims the 
claims or merits on the attention of the British vice- ° n ’ 
roy*; and Nao Nihal Singh, the real offspring of the July, 1839 ? 

* Government to Mr. Clerk, 12th of Indian correspondence, which 
July, 1839. Mr. Clerk, who was “ transmits” every thing “for inform¬ 
acting for Col. Wade while absent at ation and for such orders as may seem 
Peshawur, seems to have detained necessary.” Lord Auckland hastily 
Sher Singh’s messenger, and to have desired Sher Singh to be told Khur- 
sent his letter to the Governor Gene- ruk Singh was his master, 
ral somewhat in that ordinary spirit 

Q 3 


230 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII 


1839. 

but Nao 
Nihal Singh 
assumes all 
real power, 
and tempo¬ 
rarily allies 
himself 
with the 
Jummoo 
Rajas. 


The favour¬ 
ite, Cheit 
Singh, put 
to death, 
8th Oct. 
1839. 


titular sovereign, hastened from Peshawur to take upon 
himself the duties of ruler. The prince, a youth of 
eighteen, was in his heart opposed to the proclaimed 
minister and the Rajas of Jummoo ; but the ascendancy 
of one Cheit Singh over the weak mind of the Muha- 
raja, and Khurruk Singh’s own desire of resting upon 
the influence of the British agent, induced the two par¬ 
ties to coalesce, first for the destruction of the minion, 
and afterwards for the removal of Colonel Wade. That 
officer had stood high with Runjeet Singh as a liberal 
construer of Sikh rights, or as one who would care¬ 
fully show how a collision with the English was to be 
avoided ; he had steadily refused to make Dhian Singh 
the medium of his communications with the old Muha- 
raja; he had offended the heir-apparent by unceremoni¬ 
ously accusing him of machinations with Afghan chiefs; 
and in the eyes of the Sikhs he was pledged to Khur¬ 
ruk Singh at all hazards, hy the prominent part he had 
taken in the meeting at Rooper before noticed. His 
presence was thus disliked, and his interference dreaded, 
by men not inclined to wholly yield themselves to En¬ 
glish counsels, and yet accustomed to see the sugges¬ 
tions of the Governor General regularly carried into 
effect by the sovereign of Lahore. 

The privacy of the Muharaja’s household was rudely 
violated by the prince and minister at daybreak on the 
8th of October, 1839, and Cheit Singh was awakened 
from his slumbers to be put to death, within a few paces 
of his terrified master.* The removal of Colonel Wade 
was mixed up with the passage of British troops across 
the Punjab, and had to be effected in another manner. 


* Golab Singh was perhaps the 
most prominent and resolute actor in 
this tragedy, although his brother 
and Nao Nihal Singh were both pre¬ 
sent. Col. Wade was desired to ex¬ 
press to the Lahore Court the regret 
of the British Government that such 
a scene of violence should have oc¬ 
curred (Government to Col. Wade, 


28th Oct. 1839); and similarly Mr. 
Clerk had been directed to explain to 
Khurruk Singh the disapprobation 
with which the English viewed the 
practice of suttee with reference to 
what had taken place at his father’s 
funeral. (Government to Mr. Clerk, 
20th Aug. 1839). 


Chap. VIII.] COL. WADE AND MR. CLERK. 


231 


The Governor General had designed that the Anglo- 
Indian army which accompanied Shah Shooja, should 
return by way of Peshawur, instead of retracing its steps 
through the Bolan pass ; and when his Lordship visited 
llunjeet Singh at Lahore, the proposition was verbally 
conceded, although not definitively settled by an inter¬ 
change of letters.^ In September, 1839, Mr. Clerk 
was sent on a mission of condolence and congratulation 
to the new Muharaja, and to finally arrange about the 
return of Lord Keane with the stormers of Ghuznee. 
The prince and minister were each conscious of their 
mutual enmity and secret design of grasping supre¬ 
macy, but they were even more averse to the presence 
of a British army in the heart of the Punjab than to one 
hovering on a distant frontier. It might be used to 
take part with one or other claimant, or it might be 
turned against both in favor of the contemned Khurruk 
Singh : but the passage of the troops could not be 
wholly refused, and they therefore urged a march by the 
difficult route of Dera Ismaeel Khan, and they succeeded 
in fixing upon a line which prudently avoided the capi¬ 
tal, and also in obtaining a premature assurance that an 
English force should not again march through the Sikh 
country.t The chiefs were pleased with the new En¬ 
glish negotiator, as all have ever been with that prompt 
and approved functionary. Something is always ex¬ 
pected from a change, and when a return mission was 
deputed to Simlah, it was whispered that Colonel Wade 
had made himself personally objectionable to those who 
exercised sway at Lahore; and the complaint was re¬ 
peated to Lord Keane, when he quitted his army for a 
few days to visit the Muharaja. t In the month of No¬ 
vember (1839), Colonel Wade was himself at the Sikh 


1840. 


Mr. Clerk 
succeeds 
Lieut.-Co¬ 
lonel Wade 
as agent, 
1st April, 


1840. 


* Government to Mr. Clerk, 20th 
Aug. 1839. 

f Mr. Clerk to Government, 14 th 
Sept. 1839. The Governor General 
was not satisfied that a kind of pledge 
had been given that British troops 


should not again cross the Punjab. 
(Government to Mr. Clerk, 14th 
Oct. 1839.) 

{ See, particularly, Government to 
Col. Wade, 29th Jan. 1840, and Col. 
Wade to Government, 1st April, 1840. 


23°2 


1840. 


The relief 
of the Bri¬ 
tish troops 
in Caubul. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


metropolis on his way from Caubul, butKhurruk Singh 
was kept at a distance on pretence of devotional observ¬ 
ances, lest he should throw himself on the protection of 
one believed to be ill-disposed towards those who sought 
his life, or his virtual relinquishment of power.* 

A portion of the British army of invasion had even¬ 
tually to be left in Afghanistan, as it was thought that 
Shah Shooja could not maintain himself without sup¬ 
port. The wants of regular forces are manifold, and a 
supply of stores and ammunition had to be collected for 
transmission to Caubul on Colonel Wade’s resumption 
of his duties at Loodiana, towards the end of 1839. 
It was desired to send a regiment of Sepoys as a guard 
with the convoy, but the Sikh minister and heir appa¬ 
rent urged that such could not be done under the terms 
of the agreement concluded a few months previously. 
Their aversion to their old English representative was 
mixed up with the general objection to making their 
country a common highway for foreign armies, and they 
thus ventured to offer obstructions to the speedy equip¬ 
ment of the isolated British forces, mainly with the view 
of discrediting Colonel Wade. The Governor General 
was justly impressed with the necessity of keeping open 
the straight road to Caubul, and he yielded to the wishes 
of the Lahore factions and removed his agent, but not 
before Dhian Singh and the prince had despaired of 
effecting their object, and had allowed the convoy, 
bristling with bayonets, to proceed on its way.t In the 
beginning of April, 1840, Mr. Clerk succeeded to the 


* Compare Moonshee Shahamut 
Alee’s Sikhs and Afghans, p. 543, &c., 
and some remarks in a note, p. 
545., about the English policy gene¬ 
rally towards Khurruk Singh, which 
note may safely be held to be Col. 
Wade’s own. Doubtless had Col. 
Wade continued to enjoy the complete 
confidence or support of the Governor 
General, the subsequent history of 
the Punjab would have been differ¬ 
ent from, if not better than that 
which all have witnessed. So much 


may the British representative effect 
at an Indian court, without directly 
interfering, provided he is at once 
firm, judicious, and well-informed. 

| The Governor General was about 
to proceed to Calcutta, which made 
him the more desirous of having an 
agent on the frontier, at once approved 
of by himself and agreeable to the 
Sikhs, i. e. to the influential parties 
for the time being at Lahore. ( Go¬ 
vernment to Col. Wade, 29th Jan. 
1840.) 



Chap, VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT TRADE. 


233 


charge of the British relations with the Punjab; and, 1840. 
independent of his general qualifications, he was the 
person best suited to the requirements of the time; for 
the very reason which rendered the agency of Colonel 
Wade invaluable when it was desired to preserve Sindh 
and to invade Afghanistan, now rendered that of Mr. 

Clerk equally beneficial to the indeterminate policy of the 
English in India. Both officers had the confidence of 
the de facto Sikh rulers of the time, and all their recom¬ 
mendations were held to be given in a spirit of good 
will towards the Government of the Punjab, as well 
as in obedience to the dictates of British interests. 

The Sikh prince and the English viceroy had thus English ne- 
each accomplished the objects of the moment. On the f^ouftrade 
one hand, the Muharaja was overawed by the vigor 
and success of his aspiring son, and, on the other, the 
Punjab was freely opened to the passage of British 
troops, in support of a policy which connected the west 
of Europe with the south of Asia by an unbroken 
chain of alliances. The attention of each party was 
next turned to other matters of near concern, and the 
English recurred to their favorite scheme of navi¬ 
gating the Indus, and of forming an entrepot on that 
river, which should at once become the centre of a vast 
traffic.* The treaty of 1834 had placed a toll on boats 
which used the channels of the Indus and Sutlej, and 
in 1839 the Sikhs deferred to the changing views of their 
allies, and put the duty on the goods themselves, accord¬ 
ing to an assumed ad valorem scale, instead of on the 
containing vessels.t This scheme inevitably gave rise to 
a system of search and detention, and in June, 1840, the 
tolls upon the boats were again re-imposed, but at re¬ 
duced rates, and with the omission of such as contained 

* Government to Mr. Clerk, 4th f Mr. Clerk to Government, 19th 
May, 1840. The establishment of a May and 18th Sept. 1839, and Go- 
great entrepot of trade was a main vernment to Mr. Clerk, 20th Aug. 
feature of the scheme for opening the 1839. For the agreement itself, see 
navigation of the Indus. (Government Appendix XXXI. 
to Capt. Wade, 5th Sept. 1836.) 


234 . 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1840. 

1 ■ - J 


Nao Nihal 
Singh’s 
schemes 
against the 
Rajas of 
Jummoo. 


grain, wood, and limestone.* But in spite of every 
government endeavor, and of the adventitious aid of 
large consuming armies, the expectation of creating an 
active and valuable commerce by the Indus has not yet 
been fulfilled; partly because Sindh and Afghanistan 
are, in truth, unproductive countries on the whole, and 
are inhabited by half savage races, with few wants and 
scanty means ; and partly because a large capital has for 
ages been embarked in the land trade which connects 
the north of India with the south, which traverses the 
old principalities of Rajpootana and the fertile plains of 
Malwa, and which gives a livelihood to the owners of 
numerous herds of camels and black cattle. To change 
the established economy of prudent merchants must be 
the work of time in a country long subject to political 
commotion, and the idea of forming an emporium by 
proclamation savors more of Eastern vanity than of 
English sense and soberness.! 

Nao Nihal Singh’s great aim was to destroy, or to 
reduce to insignificance, the potent Rajas of Jummoo, 
who wished to engross the whole power of the state, 
and who jointly held Ludakh and the hill principalities 
between the Ravee and Jehlum in fief, besides numerous 
estates in various parts of the Punjab. He took 
advantage of the repeated dilatoriness of the Mundee 
and other Rajpoot chiefs around Kanggra in paying 
their stipulated tribute, to move a large force into the 
eastern hills, and the resistance his troops experienced 


* Mr. Clerk to Government, 5th 
May, and 15th July, 1840. For the 
agreement itself, see Appendix 
XXXII. Subsequently, idle discus¬ 
sions occasionally arose with local 
authorities, as to whether lime was in¬ 
cluded under limestone,whether bam¬ 
boos were wood, and whether rice was 
comprehended under the technical 
term “grain,” which it is not in India. 
Similarly the limited meaning of 
“ corn ” in England has, perhaps, 
given rise to the modern phrase 
“ bread-stuffs.” 


f Nevertheless the experiment was 
repeated in 1846, on the annexation 
of the Jalundhur Dooab, when it was 
hoped, but equally in vain, that Ho- 
sheearpoor might suddenly become a 
centre of exchange. Every part of 
India bears various marks of the 
unrealized hopes of sanguine indivi¬ 
duals with reference to the expected 
benefits of English sway, which dif¬ 
fuses indeed some moral as well as 
material blessings, but which must 
effect its work by slow and laborious 
means. 



Chap. VIII.] SCHEMES OE NAO NIHAL SINGH. 


235 


amid mountain fastnesses seemed fully to justify the con- 1840 * 
tinuous dispatch of reinforcements. His design was, 
to place a considerable army immediately to the north¬ 
east of Jummoo, to be ready to co-operate with the 
troops which could reach that place in a few marches 
from Lahore. The commanders chosen were the 
skilful General Ventura and the ardent young chief Ajeet 
Singh Sindhahwala, neither of whom bore good will 
towards Raja Dhian Singh.* The plans of the youthful interrupted 
prince thus seemed in every way well devised for ^ns with 
placing the rajas in his grasp, but his attention was the English 
distracted by disputes with the English authorities g^anisun. 
about the limits of the expanding dominion of Lahore 
and of the restored empire of Caubul, and by a direct 
accusation not only of encouraging turbulent refugees 
from Shah Shooja’s power, but of giving friendly 
assurances to Dost Mahomed Khan, who was then pre¬ 
paring for that inroad which fluttered the English 
authorities in Khorassan, and yet paved the way for 
the surrender of their dreaded enemy. Shah Sbooja 
claimed all places not specified in the treaty, or not 
directly held by Lahore; nor can it be denied that the 
English functionaries about the Shah were disposed to 
consider old Dooranee claims as more valid than the 
new rights of Sikh conquerors ; and thus the province 
of Peshawur, which the Punjab government further 
maintained to have been ceded in form by the Shah 
separately in 1834, as well as by the treaty of 1838, 
was proposed to be reduced to strips of land along the 
banks of its dividing river.t Intercepted papers were 
produced, bearing the seals of Nao Nihal Singh, and 
promising pecuniary aid to Dost Mahomed; but the 
charge of treachery was calmly repelled, the seals were 
alleged to be forgeries, and the British agent for the 
Punjab admitted that it was not the character of the 


* Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- naghten to Government, 28th Feb. 
ment, 6th Sept. 1840. and 12th March, 1840. 

t See particularly Sir Win. Mac- 


236 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1840. 


Death of 
Muharaja 
Khurruk 
Singh, 5th 
Nov. 1840. 


Death of 
the Prince 
Nao Nihal 
Singh, 5th 
Nov. 1840. 


free and confident Sikhs to resort to secret and traitor¬ 
ous correspondence.* The Barukzaee chief, Sooltan 
Mahomed Khan, was, however, made to lead as pri¬ 
soners to Loodiana the Ghiljaee rebels who had sought 
an asylum in his fief of Kohat, near Peshawur, and 
whose near presence disturbed the antagonistic rule of 
the arbitrary Shah and his moderate English allies, t 
Nao Nihal Singh thus seemed to have overcome the 
danger which threatened him on the side of England, 
and to be on the eve of reducing the overgrown power 
of his grandfather’s favorites. At the same time the 
end of the Muharaja’s life was evidently approaching; 
and although his decline was credibly declared to have 
been hastened by drugs as well as by unfiiial harshness, 
there were none who cared for a ruler so feeble and un¬ 
worthy. Khurruk Singh at last died on the 5th Novem¬ 
ber, 1840, prematurely old and care-worn, at the age of 
thirty-eight, and Nao Nihal Singh became a king in 
name as well as in power ; but the same day dazzled 
him with a crown and deprived him of life. He had 
performed the last rites at the funeral pyre of his father, 
and he was passing under a covered gateway with the 
eldest son of Golab Singh by his side, when a portion of 
the structure fell, and killed the minister’s nephew on the 
spot, and so seriously injured the prince, that he became 
senseless at the time, and expired during the night. It 
is not positively known that the Rajas of Jummoo thus 
designed to remove Nao Nihal Singh ; but it is difficult 
to acquit them of the crime, and it is certain that they 
were capable of committing it. Self-defence is the only 
palliation, for it is equally certain that the prince was 
compassing their degradation, and, perhaps, their de- 


* Government to Mr. Clerk, 1st 
Oct. 1840, and Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 9th Dec. 1840. Compare, 
however, Col. Steinbach ( Punjab , p. 
23.), who states that the prince was 
rousing Nepal as well as Caubul to 
aid him in expelling the English ; 
forgetful that Nao Nihal Singh’s first 


object was to make himself master of 
the Punjab by destroying the Jum¬ 
moo Rajas. 

f Government to Mr. Clerk, 12th 
Oct., and Mr. Clerk to Government, 
14th May, 10th Sept., and 24th Oct., 
1840. 


Chap. YU!.] SHER SINGH PROCLAIMED. 


237 


struction.* Nao Nihal Singh was killed in his twen¬ 
tieth year ; he promised to be an able and vigorous 
ruler; and had his life been spared, and had not En¬ 
glish policy partly forestalled him, he would have found 
an ample held for his ambition in Sindh, in Afghanistan, 
and beyond the Hindoo Koosh ; and he might perhaps, 
at last have boasted that the inroads of Mehmood and 
of Tymoor had been fully avenged by the aroused 
peasants of India. 

The good-natured voluptuary, Sher Singh, was re¬ 
garded by the Sikh minister and by the British agent 
as the only person who could succeed to the sovereignty 
of the Punjab ; and as he was absent from Lahore when 
the Muharaja died and his son was killed, Dhian Singh 
concealed the latter circumstance as long as possible, to 
give Sher Singh time to collect his immediate friends; 
and the English representative urged him by message 
to maintain good order along the frontier, as men’s 
minds were likely to be excited by what had taken 
place.t But Sher Singh’s paternity was more than 
doubtful ; he possessed no commanding and few popular 
qualities; the Rajas of Jummoo were odious to the 
majority of the Sikh chiefs; and thus Chund Kour, the 
widow of Khurruk Singh, and the mother of the slain 
prince, assumed to herself the functions of regent or 
ruler, somewhat unexpectedly indeed, but still unopposed 
at the moment by those whom she had surprized. She 
was supported by several men of reputation, but mainly 
by the Sindhanwala family, which traced to a near and 
common ancestor with Runjeet Singh. The lady her- 


1840. 


Sher Singh 
proclaimed 
sovereign; 


but Chund 
Kour, the 
widow of 
Khurruk 
Singh, as¬ 
sumes 
power, and 
Sher Singh 
retires. 


* Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 6"th, 7th, and 10th Nov. 1840, 
who further, in his memorandum of 
1842, drawn up for Lord Ellenbo- 
rough, mentions Gen. Ventura’s opi¬ 
nion that the fall of the gateway was 
accidental. Lieut.-Col. Steinbach, 
Punjab (p. 24.), and Major Smyth, 
Reigning Family of Lahore (p. 35, 
&c.), may be quoted as giving somQ 


particulars, the latter on the authority 
of an eye-witness, a European adven¬ 
turer, known as Capt. Gardner, who 
was present a part of the time, and 
whose testimony is unfavorable to 
Raja Dhian Singh. 

f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 7th Nov. 1840, and also Mr. 
Clerk’s Memorandum of 1842. 


238 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1840 . self talked of adding to the claims of the youthful Heera 

'- v -' Singh, hy adopting him, as he had really, if not 

formally, been adopted by the old Muharaja. She fur¬ 
ther distracted the factions by declaring that her daugh- 
ter-in-law was pregnant; and one party tried to gain 
her over by suggesting a marriage with Sher Singh, an 
alliance which she spurned, and the other more reason¬ 
ably proposed Uttur Singh Sindhanwala as a suitable 
partner, for she might have taken an honored station 
in his household agreeably to the latitude of village 
custom in the north-west of India. But the widow of 
the Muharaja loudly asserted her own right to supreme 
power, and after a few weeks the government was stated 
to be composed, 1st, of the “ Maee,” or “ Mother,” 
pre-eminently as sovereign, or as regent for the ex¬ 
pected offspring of Nao Nihal Singh ; 2d, of Sher Singh 
as vicegerent, or as president of the council of state ; 
and 3d, of Dhian Singh as vuzeer, or executive minis¬ 
ter. The compromise was a mere temporary expedient, 
and Dhian Singh and Sher Singh soon afterwards be¬ 
gan to absent themselves for varying periods from 
Lahore: the one partly in the hope that the mass of 
business which had arisen with the English, and with 
which he was familiar, would show to all that his aid 
was essential to the government; and the other, or 
indeed both of them, to silently take measures for 
gaining over the army with promises of donatives and 
increased pay, so that force might be resorted to at a 
fitting time. But the scorn with which Sher Singh’s 
hereditary claim was treated made the minister doubtful 
whether a more suitable instrument might not be neces¬ 
sary, and the English authorities were accordingly re¬ 
minded of what perhaps they had never known, viz. 
Singh’s^ ^at ^ anee Jindan, a favorite w r ife or concubine of 
birth and Runjeet Singh, had borne to him a son named Dhuleep, 
made nS1 ° nS a ^ ew mont ^ s before the conferences took place about 
known. reseating Shah Shooja on the throne of Caubul.* 

* Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- 1840, and 2d Jan. 1841, inclusive, 
ment, of dates between the 10th Nov. particularly of the 11th and 24th 


Chap. VIII.] 


MAEE CHUND KOUR. 


239 


The British viceroy did not acknowledge Maee 
Chund Kdur as the undoubted successor of her husband 
and son, or as the sovereign of the country; but he 
treated her government as one de facto , so far as to 
carry on business as usual through the accredited agents 
of either power. The Governor General’s anxiety for 
the preservation of order in the Punjab was nevertheless 
considerable; and it was increased by the state of 
affairs in Afghanistan, for the attempts of Dost Ma¬ 
homed and the resolution of meeting him with English 
means alone, rendered the despatch of additional troops 
necessary, and before Khurruk Singh’s death three 
thousand men had reached Feerozpoor on their way to 
Caubul.* The progress of this strong brigade was not 
delayed by the contentions at Lahore; it pursued its 
march without interruption, and on its arrival at Pesha- 
wur it found Dost Mahomed a prisoner instead of a 
victor. The ex-Ameer journeyed through the Punjab 
escorted by a relieved brigade; and although Sher 
Singh was then laying siege to the citadel of Lahore, 
the original prudence of fixing a route for British troops 
clear of the Sikh capital, and the complete subjugation 
of the Mahometan tribes, left the English commander 
unaware of the struggle going on, except from ordinary 
reports and news-writers.t 

The English Government made indeed no declaration 
with regard to the Lahore succession ; but it was be¬ 
lieved by all that Sher Singh was looked upon as the 
proper representative of the kingdom, and the advisers 
of Maee Chund Kdur soon found that they could not 
withstand the specious claims of the prince, and the 
commanding influence of the British name, without 


1340. 


The English 
remain 
neutral at 
the time. 


Dost Ma¬ 
homed 
Khan at¬ 
tempts Cau- 
bul, but 
eventually 
surrenders 
to the En¬ 
glish. 


Sher Singh 
gains over 
the troops 
with Dhian 
Singh’s aid. 


Nov. and 11th Dec., besides those and 2d Nov. 1840, and other letters 
specified. It seems almost certain to and from that functionary, 
that the existence of the boy Dhuleep f The returning brigade was com- 
was not before known to the British manded by the veteran Col. Wheeler, 
authorities. whose name is familiar to the public 

* Government to Mr. Clerk, 1st in connection both with Afghan and 

Sikh wars. 


MO 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. Yin. 


1841. 


Sher Singh 
attacks La¬ 
hore, 14— 
18th Jan. 
1841. 


Chund 
Kour 
yields, and 
Sher Singh 
proclaimed 
Muharaja. 


throwing themselves wholly on the support of Raja 
Dhian Singh. That chief was at one time not un¬ 
willing to he the sole minister of the Muharanee, and 
the more sagacious Golab Singh saw advantages to his 
family amid the complex modes necessary in a female 
rule, which might not attend the direct sway of a prince 
of average understanding, inclined to favoritism, and 
pledged to Sikh principles. But the Maee’s coun¬ 
cillors would not consent to be thrown wholly into the 
shade, and Dhian Singh thus kept aloof, and secretly 
assured Sher Singh of his support at a fitting time. 
The prince, on his part, endeavored to sound the 
English agent as to his eventual recognition, and he 
was satisfied with the reply, although he merely re¬ 
ceived an assurance that the allies of thirty-two years 
wished to see a strong government in the Punjab.* 

Sher Singh had, with the minister’s aid, gained over 
some divisions of the army, and he believed that all 
would declare for him if he boldly put himself at their 
head. The eagerness of the prince, or of his immediate 
followers, somewhat precipitated measures; and when 
he suddenly appeared at Lahore on the 14th January, 
1841, he found that Dhian Singh had not arrived from 
Jummoo, and that Golab Singh would rather fight for 
the Muharanee, the acknowledged head of the state, than 
tamely become a party on compulsion to his ill-arranged 
schemes. But Sher Singh was no longer his own 
master, and the impetuous soldiery at once proceeded to 
breach the citadel. Golab Singh in vain urged some 
delay, or a suspension of hostilities ; but on the 18th 
January, Dhian Singh and most of the principal chiefs 
had arrived and ranged themselves on one side or the 
other. A compromise took place ; the Maee was out¬ 
wardly treated with every honor, and large estates 
were conferred upon her ; hut Sher Singh was pro¬ 
claimed Muharaja of the Punjab, Dhian Singh was de~ 


* See Mr. Clerk’s letters to Go- generally, particularly that of the 9th 
vernment of Dec. 1840 and Jan. 1841, Jan. 


Chap. VIII.] 


SHER SINGH ACKNOWLEDGED. 


241 


dared once more to be vuzeer of the state, and the pay i 84 i. 
of the soldiery was permanently raised by one rupee per ^ he 
mensem. The Sindhanwalas felt that they must be hanwaia 
obnoxious to the new ruler ; and Uttur Singh and faimIy * 
Ajeet Singh took early measures to effect their escape 
from the capital, aud eventually into the British ter¬ 
ritories ; but Lehna Singh, the other principal member, 
remained with the division of the army which he com¬ 
manded in the hills of Kooloo and Mundee.* 

Sher Singh had induced the troops of the state to The army 
make him a king, but he was unable to command them controllable 
as soldiers, or to sway them as men, and they took 
advantage of his incapacity and of their own strength 
to wreak their vengeance upon various officers who had 
offended them, and upon various regimental account¬ 
ants and muster-masters who may have defrauded them 
of their pay. Some houses were plundered, and several 
individuals were seized and slain. A few Europeans 
had likewise rendered themselves obnoxious ; and Ge¬ 
neral Court, a moderate and high-minded man, had to 
fly for his life, and a brave young Englishman named 
Foulkes was cruelly put to death. Nor was this spirit 
of violence confined to the troops at the capital, or to 
those in the eastern hills, but it spread to Cashmeer 
and Peshawur ; and in the former place, Meehan Singh 
the governor was killed by the soldiery ; and in the 
latter, General Avitabile was so hard pressed, that he 
was ready to abandon his post and to seek safety in 
Jellalabad.t It was believed at the time, that the 
army would not rest satisfied with avenging what it 
considered its own injuries ; it was thought it might 
proceed to a general plunder or confiscation of pro¬ 
perty ; the population of either side of the Sutlej was 
prepared for an extensive commotion, and the wealthy 
merchants of Amritsir prophesied the pillage of their 

* See Mr. Clerk’s letters, of dates ment, 26th Jan., 8th and 14th Feb. 
from 17th to 30th Jan. 1841. 28tli April, and 30th May, 1841 

f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- 
R 


242 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1841. 

Sher Singh 
alarmed. 


The En¬ 
glish an¬ 
xious about 
the general 
tranquillity, 


undervalue 
the Sikhs, 


and are 
ready to in¬ 
terfere by 


warehouses, and were clamorous for British protection. 
Sher Singh shrunk within himself appalled, and he 
seemed timorously to resort to the English agent for 
support against the fierce spirit he had roused and could 
not control; or he doubtfully endeavored to learn 
whether such disorders would be held equally to end his 
reign and the British alliance. The English watched 
the confusion with much interest and some anxiety, and 
when cities seemed about to be plundered, and pro¬ 
vinces ravaged, the question of the duty of a civilized 
and powerful neighbor naturally suggested itself, and 
was answered by a cry for interference : but the shapes 
which the wish took were various and contradictory. 
Nevertheless, the natural desire for aggrandizement, 
added to the apparently disorganized state of the army, 
contributed to strengthen a willing belief in the inferiority 
of the Sikhs as soldiers, and in the great excellence of 
the mountain levies of the chiefs of Jummoo, who alone 
seemed to remain the masters of their own servants. 
To the apprehension of the English authorities, the 
Sikhs were mere upstart peasants of doubtful courage, 
except when maddened by religious persecution ; but 
the ancient name of Rajpoot was sufficient to invest the 
motley followers of a few valiant chiefs with every war¬ 
like quality. This erroneous estimate of the Sikhs 
tainted British counsels until the day of Pheeroo- 
shuhur. # 

The English seemed thus called upon to do some¬ 
thing, and their agent in Caubul, who was committed 


* This erroneous estimate of the 
troops of the Jummoo Rajas and 
other hill chiefs of the Punjab rela¬ 
tively to the Sikhs, may be seen in¬ 
sisted on in Mr. Clerk’s letters to Go¬ 
vernment of the 2d Jan. and 13th 
April, 1841, and especially in those 
of the 8th and 10th Dec. of that year, 
and of the 15th Jan., 10th Feb., and 
23d April, 1842. Mr. Clerk’s ex¬ 
pressions are very decided, such as 
that the Sikhs feared the hill-men, 


who were braver, and that Rajpoots 
might hold Afghans in check which 
Sikhs could not do ; but he seems to 
have forgotten that the ancient Raj¬ 
poots had, during the century gone 
by, yielded on either side to the new 
and aspiring Goorkhas and Mahrat- 
tas, and even that the Sikhs themselves 
had laid the twice-born princes of the 
Himalayas under contribution from 
the Ganges to Cashmcer. 


Chap. Yin.] APPREHENSIONS OF SUER SINGII. 


243 


to make Shah Shooja a monarch in means as well as 
in rank, grasped at the death of Runjeet Singh’s last 
representative ; he pronounced the treaties with Lahore 
to be at an end, and he wanted to annex Peshawur to 
the Afghan sway. The British Government in Cal¬ 
cutta rebuked this hasty conclusion, but cheered itself 
with the prospect of eventually adding the Derajat of 
the Indus, as well as Peshawur, to the unproductive 
Dooranee kingdom, without any breach of faith towards 
the Sikhs ; for it was considered that their dominions 
might soon be rent in two by the Sindhanwala Sirdars 
and the Jummoo Rajas. # The British agent on the 
Sutlej did not think the Lahore empire so near its dis¬ 
solution in that mode, and confident in his own dexterity, 
in the superiority of his troops, and in the greatness of 
the English name, he proposed to march to the Sikh 
capital with 12,000 men, to beat and disperse a rebel 
army four times more numerous, to restore order, to 
strengthen the sovereignty of Sher Singh, and take the 
cis-Sutlej districts and forty lakhs of rupees in coin as 
the price of his aid.t This promptitude made the 
Muharaja think himself in danger of his life at the 
hands of his subjects, and of his kingdom at the hands 
of his alliest; nor was the Governor General prepared 
for a virtual invasion, although he was ready to use 
force if a large majority of the Sikhs as well as the 
Muharaja himself desired such intervention^ After 


* See especially Government to 
Sir Wm. Macnaghten, of 28th Dec. 
1840, in reply to his proposals of the 
26th Nov. The Governor General 
justly observed that the treaty was 
not formed with an individual chief, 
but with the Sikh state, so long as it 
might last and fulfil the obligations 
of its alliance. 

f Mr. Clerk to Government, of the 
26th March, 1841. 

| When Sher Singh became aware 
of Mr. Clerk’s propositions, he is 
said simply to have drawn his finger 
across his throat, meaning that the 
Sikhs would at once take his life if 


he assented to such measures. The 
readiness of the English to co-operate 
was first propounded to Fukeer Uzeez- 
ooddeen, and that wary negotiator 
said the matter could not be trusted 
to paper, he would himself go and 
tell Sher Singh of it. He went, but 
he did not return, his object being to 
keep clear of schemes so hazardous. 

§ Government to Mr. Clerk, 18th 
Feb. and 29th March, 1841. The 
Governor General truly remarked 
that Mr. Clerk, rather than the Mu¬ 
haraja, had proposed an armed inter¬ 
ference. 


R 2 


1841. 


force of 
arms, Feb. 
1841. 



244 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. YIII. 


3 £ 41 , this, the disorders in the army near Lahore gradually 
c —* 7 “— subsided ; but the opinion got abroad that overtures had 
t aV y Ssor- been made to the eager English; and so far were the 
ders sub- Sikh soldiery from desiring foreign assistance, that 
the 6 people Lehna Singh Sindhanwala was imprisoned by his own 
become sus- men [ u Mundee hills, on a charge of conspiracy 
the English, with his refugee brother to introduce the supremacy of 
strangers.* 

Major The suspicions and hatred of the Sikhs were further 

Fis°sage° 0tS rousef l by the proceedings of an officer, afterwards 
across the nominated to represent British friendship and modera- 
Punjab. tion. Major Broadfoot had been appointed to recruit a 
corps of Sappers and Miners for the service of Shah 
Shooja, and as the family of that sovereign, and also 
the blind Shah Zuman with his wives and children, 
were about to proceed to Caubul, he was charged with 
the care of the large and motley convoy. He entered 
the Punjab in April, 1841, when the mutinous spirit 
of the Sikh army was spreading from the capital to the 
provinces. A body of mixed or Mahometan troops 
had been directed by the Lahore Government to accom¬ 
pany the royal families as an escort of protection, but 
Major Broadfoot became suspicious of the good faith of 
this detachment, and on the banks of the Ravee he 
prepared to resist, with his newly recruited regiment, 
an attack on the part of those who had been sent 
to conduct him in safety. On his way to the Indus he 
was even more suspicious of other bodies of troops 
which he met or passed ; he believed them to be intent 
on plundering his camp, and he considered that he 
only avoided collisions by dexterous negotiations and 
by timely demonstrations of force. On crossing the 
river at Attok, his persuasion of the hostile designs 
of the battalions in that neighborhood and towards 
Peshawur was so strong, that he put his camp in a 
complete state of defence, broke up the bridge of boats, 
and called upon the Afghan population to rise and aid 
him against the troops of their government But it 

* Mr. Clerk to Government, 25th March, 1841. 


Chap. VIIX.] 


THE SIKH AKMY. 


2k> 


does not appear that his apprehensions had even a 
plausible foundation, until at this time he seized certain 
deputies from a mutinous regiment when on their way 
back from a conference with their commander, and who 
appear to have come within the limits of the British 
pickets. This proceeding alarmed both General Avitabile, 
the governor of Peshawur, and the British agent at that 
place ; and a brigade, already warned, was hurried from 
Jellalabad to overawe the Sikh forces encamped near 
the Indus. But the Shah’s families and their numerous 
followers had passed on unmolested before the auxiliary 
troops had cleared the Khyber Pass, and the whole 
proceeding merely served to irritate and excite the 
distrust of the Sikhs generally, and to give Sher Singh 
an opportunity of pointing out to his tumultuous soldiers 
that the Punjab was surrounded by English armies, 
both ready and willing to make war upon them. # 

Before the middle of 1841 the more violent pro¬ 
ceedings of the Lahore troops had ceased, but the 
relation of the army to the state had become wholly 
altered.; it was no longer the willing instrument of an 
arbitrary and genial government, but it looked upon 
itself, and was regarded by others, as the representative 
body of the Sikh people, as the “ Khalsa ” itself assem¬ 
bled by tribes or centuries to take its part in public 
affairs. The efficiency of the army as a disciplined 
force was not much impaired, for a higher feeling 
possessed the men, and increased alacrity and resolution 
supplied the place of exact training. They were sen¬ 
sible of the advantages of systematic union, and they 
were proud of their armed array as the visible body of 
Govind’s commonwealth. As a general rule, the troops 
were obedient to their appointed officers, so far as con¬ 
cerned their ordinary military duties, but the position of 
a regiment, of a brigade, of a division, or of the whole 
army, relatively to the executive government of the 
country, was determined by a committee or assemblage 


1841. 


The Sikhs 
further 
irritated 
against the 
English. 


The 

changed 
relation of 
the Lahore 
army to the 
state. 

Its military 
organiza¬ 
tion enables 
it to become 
the repre¬ 
sentative 
body of the 
Khalsa. 


Compare Mr. Clerk to Government, 25th May and 10th June, 1841. 


24 6 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1841 . of committees, termed a “ Punch” or “ Punchayet,” i.e. 

' ¥ ' a jury or committee of five, composed of men selected 

from each battalion, or each company, in consideration 
of their general character as faithful Sikh soldiers, or 
from their particular influence in their native villages. 
The system of Punchayets is common throughout 
India, and every tribe, or section of a tribe, or trade, or 
calling, readily submits to the decisions of its elders or 
superiors seated together in consultation. In the Punjab 
the custom received a further development from the 
organization necessary to an army ; and even in the 
crude form of representation thus achieved, the Sikh 
people were enabled to interfere with effect, and with 
some degree of consistency, in the nomination and in 
the removal of their rulers. But these large assemblies 
sometimes added military licence to popular tumult, 
and the corrupt spirit of mercenaries to the barbarous 
ignorance of ploughmen. Their resolutions were often 
unstable or unwise, and the representatives of different 
divisions might take opposite sides from sober convic¬ 
tion or self-willed prejudice, or they might be bribed and 
cajoled by such able and unscrupulous men as Raja 
Golab Singh. # 

Negotia- The partial repose in the autumn of 1841 was taken 
theEngifak advantage of to recur to those mercantile objects, of 
about in- which the British Government never lost sigdit. The 
mi.™ e ’ facilities of navigating the Indus and Sutlej had been 
increased, and it was now sought to extend correspond¬ 
ing advantages to the land trade of the Punjab. Twenty 
years before, Mr. Moorcroft had, of his own instance, 
made proposals to Runjeet Singh for the admission of 
British goods into the Lahore dominions at fixed rates 
of duty.f In 1832, Colonel Wade again brought 


* See Mr. Clerk’s letter of the 14th 
March, 1841, for Fukeer Uzeezood- 
deen’s admission, that even then the 
army was united and ruled by its 
punchayets. [With reference to the 
Punchayets of India, it may be ob¬ 


served, that Hallam shows, chiefly 
from Palgrave, that English juries 
likewise were originally as much arbi¬ 
trators as investigators of facts .{Mid. 
Ages, Supplemental Notes, p. 241-7.)] 
•j - Moorcroft, Travels , i. 105. 


Chap. VIII.] 


ISKARDO TAKEN. 


247 


forward the subject of a general tariff for the Punjab, 184L 
and the Mubaraja appeared to be not indisposed to ^ * * 

meet the views of his allies ; but he really disliked to 
make arrangements of which he did not fully see the 
scope and tendency, and he thus tried to evade even a 
settlement of the river tolls, by saying that the pros¬ 
perity of Amritsir would be affected, and by recurring 
to that ever ready objection, the slaughter of kine. 

Cows, he said, might be used as food by those who 
traversed the Punjab under a British guarantee.* In 
1840, when Afghanistan was garrisoned by Indian 
troops, the Governor General pressed the subject a 
second time on the notice of the Lahore authorities ; and 
after a delay of more than a year, Sher Singh assented 
to a reduced scale and to a fixed rate of duty, and also 
to levy the whole sum at one place ; but the charges 
still appeared excessive, and the British viceroy lamented 
the ignorance displayed by the Sikh Muharaja, and the 
disregard which he evinced for the true interests of his 
subjects, t 

The Lahore Government was convulsed at its centre, zorawur 
but its spirit of progress and aggrandizement was active 8 “sh, the 
on the frontiers, where not hemmed in by British armies, the Jum- 
The deputies in Cashmeer had always been jealous of ^* 1 J ajas ’ 
the usurpations of Golab Singh in Tibet, but Meehan kar<io,is 40 . 
Singh, a rude soldier, the governor of the valley during 
the commotions at Lahore, was alarmed into conces¬ 
sions by the powerful and ambitious Rajas of Jummoo, 
and he left Iskardo, and the whole valley of the Upper 
Indus, a free field for the aggressions of their lieuten¬ 
ants.! Ahmed Shah, the reigning chief of Baltee, had 

* Compare Col. Wade to Govern- Religion is thus brought in upon all 
ment, 7th Nov. and 5th Dec. 1832. occasions of apprehension or disincli- 
These objections are often urged in nation. 

India, not because they are felt to be + Government to Mr. Clerk, 4th 
reasonable in themselves, or applicable May, 1840, and 11th Oct. 1841, and 
to the point at issue, but because re- Mr. Clerk to Government of 20th 
ligion is always a strong ground to Sept. 1841. 

stand‘on, and because it is the only j Sir Claude Wade (Narrative of 
thing which the English do not vir- Services, p. 33. note) represents the 
tually profess a desire to change. Jummoo family to have obtained from 



248 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


i84i. differences with his family, and he proposed to pass 
' y * over his eldest son in favor of a younger one, in fix¬ 
ing the succession. The natural heir would seem to 
have endeavored to interest the Governor of Cash- 
meer, and also Zorawur Singh, the Jummoo deputy in 
Ludakh, in his favor; and in 1840 he fled from his 
father and sought refuge and assistance in Leh. Gno- 
doop Tunzin, the puppet king of Ludakh, had con¬ 
ceived the idea of throwing off the Jummoo authority; 
he had been trying to engage Ahmed Shah in the 
design; the absence of Zorawur Singh was oppor¬ 
tune, and he allowed a party of Iskardo troops to march 
on Leh, and to carry off the son of their chief. Zora¬ 
wur Singh made this inroad a pretext for war ; and 
before the middle of the year 1840 he was master of 
Little Tibet, but he left the chiefship in the family of 
Ahmed Shah, on the payment of a petty yearly tribute 
of seven thousand rupees, so barren are the rocky prin¬ 
cipalities between Imaus and Emodus.* Zorawur 
Singh was emboldened by his own success and by the 
dissensions at Lahore; he claimed fealty from Ghilghit; 
he was understood to be desirous of quarrelling with the 
Chinese governor of Yarkund; and he renewed anti¬ 
quated claims of Ludakh supremacy, and demanded the 
surrender of Rohtuk, Garo, and the lakes of Mansara- 
wur, from the priestly king of Lassa.t 
zorawur Zorawur Singh was desirous of acquiring territory, 
Garo h from S an( l he was a ^ s0 hitent 011 monopolizing the trade in 
the Chinese shawl-wool, a considerable branch of which followed the 
i 84 i. SSa ’ Sutlej and more eastern roads to Loodiana and Delhi, 
and added nothing to the treasury of Jummoo.t In 
May and June, 1841, he occupied the valleys of the 
Indus and Sutlej, to the sources of those rivers, and he 


the British government an assurance 
that the limitations put upon Sikh 
conquests to the west and south by 
the Tripartite Treaty of 1839, would 
not be held to apply to the north or 
Tibetan side, in which direction, it 
was said, the Sikhs were free to act 
as they might please. 


* Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 26th April, 9th and 31st May, 
and 25th Aug. 1840. 

f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 25th Aug. and 8th Oct. 1840, 
and 2d Jan. and 5th June, 1841. 

J Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 5th and 22d June, 1841. 


Cii vp. VIII.] 


EVACUATION OF LASS A. 


249 


fixed a garrison close to the frontiers of Nepal, and on i84i. 
the opposite side of the snowy range from the British ' * * 

post of Altnora. The petty Rajpoot princes between 
the Kalee and Sutlej suffered in their revenues, and 
trembled for their territories; the Nepal Government had 
renewed intrigues set on foot in 1838, and was in corre¬ 
spondence with the crafty minister of Lahore, and with 
the disaffected Sindhahwala chiefs *; and the English 
Government itself was at war with China, at the distance 
of half the earth’s circumference. It was held that the 
trade of British Indian subjects must not be interfered 
with by Jummoo conquests in Chinese Tibet; it was 
deemed unadvisable to allow the Lahore and Nepal 
dominions to march with one another behind the Hima¬ 
layas ; and it was thought the Emperor of Pekin might 
confound independent Sikhs with the predominant 
English, and throw additional difficulties in the way of 
pending or probable negotiations, t It was therefore The English 
decided that Sher Singh should require his feudatories mteifue * 
to evacuate the Lassa territories ; a day, the 10th of 
December, 1841, was fixed for the surrender of Garo ; 
and a British officer was sent to see that the grand 


* Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 16th Aug. and 23d Nov. 1840, 
and 17th Jan. 1841 ; and Govern¬ 
ment to Mr. Clerk, 19th Oct. 1840. 
The correspondence of Nepal with 
the Sikhs, or rather with the Jummoo 
faction, doubtless arose in part from 
the presence of Matabur Singh, an 
eminent Goorkha, as a refugee in the 
Punjab. He crossed the Sutlej in 
1838, and soon got a high command 
in the Lahore service, or rather, per¬ 
haps, a high position at the court. 
Ilis success in this way, and his ne¬ 
cessary correspondence with British 
functionaries, made the Nepal Go¬ 
vernment apprehensive of him, and at 
last he became so important in the 
eyes of the English themselves, that 
in 1840, when differences with Katli- 
mandoo seemed likely to lead to hos¬ 
tilities, overtures were virtually made 
to him, and he was kept in hand, as it 
were, to be supported as a claimant 


for power, or as a partizan leader, 
should active measures be necessary. 
He was thus induced to quit the 
Punjab, where his presence, indeed, 
was not otherwise satisfactory ; but 
the differences with the Goorkhas were 
composed, and Matabar Singh was cast 
aside with an allowance of a thousand 
rupees a month from the potent go¬ 
vernment which had demeaned itself 
by using him as a tool. ( Compare par¬ 
ticularly Government to Mr. Clerk, 
4th May and 26th Oct. 1840; and Mr. 
Clerk to Government, 22d Oct. 1 840 ) 
f Compare Government to Mr. 
Clerk, 16th Aug. and 6th and 20th 
Sept. 1841. The Sikhs, too, had 
their views with regard to China, and 
naively proposed co-operation with 
the English, or a diversion in Tartary 
in favor of the war then in progress 
on the sea coast! (Mr. Clerk to Go¬ 
vernment, 18th Aug. and 20th Oct. 
1841.) 


250 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1841 . 

- Y - 


The Sikhs 
defeated by 
a force from 
Lassa. 


The Chi- 
nese recover 
Garo. 


Lama’s authority was fully re-established. TheMuharaja 
and his tributaries yielded, and Zorawur Singh was 
recalled ; but before the order could reach him, or be 
acted on, he was surrounded in the depth of winter, and 
at a height of twelve thousand feet or more above 
the sea, by a superior force from Lassa enured to frost 
and snow. The men of the Indian plains and southern 
Himalayas were straitened for fuel — as necessary as 
food in such a climate and at such a season ; some even 
burnt the stocks of their muskets to warm their hands; 
and on the day of battle, in the middle of December, 
they were benumbed in their ranks during a fatal pause ; 
their leader was slain, a few principal men were reserved 
as prisoners, but the mass was left to perish, huddled in 
heaps behind rocks, or at the bottoms of ravines. The 
neighboring garrison on the Nepal frontier fled on 
hearing of the defeat; the men were not pursued, but 
in passing over ranges 16,000 feet high, on their way 
to Almora, the deadly cold reduced them to half their 
numbers, and left a moiety of the remainder maimed for 
life.* 

During the spring of 1842 the victorious Chinese 
advanced along the Indus, and not only recovered their 
own province, but occupied Ludakh and laid siege to the 
citadel of Leh. The Kalmuks and the ancient Sokpos, 
or Sacse, talked of another invasion of Cashmeer, and the 
Tartars of the Greater and Lesser Tibet were elate with 
the prospect of revenge and plunder : but troops were 
poured across the Himalayas; the swordsmen and 
cannoneers of the south were dreaded by the unwarlike 
Bhotees ; the siege of Leh was raised, and in the month 
of September (1842) Golab Singh’s commander seized 
the Lassa Vuzeer by treachery, and dislodged his troops 

* In this rapid sketch of Ludakh wur, through the reports of the fugi- 
affairs, the author has necessarily de- tives to Almora, before it was heard 
pended for the most part on his own of in the neighbouring Garo. [From 
personal knowledge. After the battle the observations of Lieut. H. Strachey 
on the Mansarawar Lake, the western it would appear that the height of the 
passes remained closed for five weeks, Mansarawar Lake is 15,250 feet, 
and the defeat of the Sikhs was thus (Jour. As. Soc., Bengal, Aug. 1848, 
made known in Calcutta and Pesha- p. 155.)] 



Chap. VIII.] AMBITION OF THE JUMMOO RAJAS. 


251 


by stratagem from a position between Leh and Rohtuk, 
where they had proposed to await the return of winter. 
An arrangement was then come to between the Lassa 
and Lahore authorities, which placed matters on their 
old footing, agreeably to the desire of the English ; and 
as the shawl-wool trade to the British provinces was 
also revived, no further intervention was considered 
necessary between the jealous Chinese and the restrained 
Sikhs.* 

When in April, 1841, the troops in Cashmeer put 
their governor to death, Raja Golab Singh was sent to 
restore order, and to place the authority of the new 
manager, Gholam Moheiooddeen on a firm footing. 
The mutinous regiments were overpowered by numbers 
and punished with severity, and it was soon apparent 
that Golab Singh had made the governor whom he was 
aiding a creature of his own, and had become the virtual 
master of the valley.t Neither the minister nor his 
brother had ever been thought well pleased with English 
interference in the affairs of the Punjab ; they were at 
the time in suspicious communication with Nepal ; and 
they were held to be bound to Sooltan Mahomed Khan, 
whose real or presumed intrigues with the enemies of 
Shah Shooja had occasioned his removal to Lahore a 
year previously.t General Avitabile had become more 
and more urgent to be relieved from his dangerous post 
at Peshawur ; the influence of Dhian Singh was pre¬ 
dominant in Sikh counsels ; and the English opinion of 
the ability of the Jummoo Rajas and of the excellence 

* At Amritsir in March, 1846, covenant, and it is moreover a com- 
when Golab Singh was formally in- mon emblem on the standards of the 
augurated as Muharaja of Jummoo, eastern Afghans, 
he exhibited the engagements with -f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- 
the Lama of Lassa, drawn out on his ment, 13th May, 9th July, and 3d 
part in yellow, and on the part of the Sept. 1840. 

Chinese in red ink, and each im- f For this presumed understand- 
pressed with the open hand of the ing between the Jummoo Rajas and 
negotiators dipped in either color in- the Barukzaees of Peshawur, Mr. 
stead of a regular seal or written sig- Clerk’s letter of the 8th Oct. 1840, 
nature. The “ Punja,”or^anrf, seems may be referred to among others, 
in general use in Asia as typical of a 


1841. 


Peace be¬ 
tween the 
Chinese and 
Sikhs. 


The ambi¬ 
tious views 
of the Jum¬ 
moo Rajas 
towards the 
Indus. 



HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


252 


841. 


Clash with 
the policy 
of the 
English. 


The insur¬ 
rection at 
Caubul, 
Nov. 1841. 


of their troops was well known, and induced a belief 
in partiality to be presumed.* It was therefore pro¬ 
posed by Sher Singh to bestow the Afghan province 
on the restorer of order in Cashtneer. But this arrange¬ 
ment would have placed the hills from the neighbor¬ 
hood of Kanggra to the Khyber Pass in the hands of 
men averse to the English and hostile to Shah Shooja ; 
and as their troublesome ambition had been checked in 
Tibet, so it was resolved that their more dangerous 
establishment on the Caubul river should be prevented. 
In the autumn of 1841, therefore, the veto of the 
English agent was put upon Raja Golab Singh’s nomi¬ 
nation to Peshawur.t 

About two months afterwards, or on the 2d Novem¬ 
ber (1841), that insurrection broke out in Caubul 
which forms so painful a passage in British history. 
No valiant youth arose superior to the fatal influence of 
military subordination, to render illustrious the retreat 
of a handful of Englishmen, or more illustrious still, 
the successful defence of their position .t The brave 
spirit of Sir William Macnaghten labored perse- 
veringly, but in vain, against the unworthy fear which 
possessed the highest officers of the army; and the dis¬ 
may of the distant commanders imparted some of its 
poison to the supreme authorities in India, who were 
weary of the useless and burdensome occupation of 
Khorassan. The first generous impulse was awed into 
a desire of annulling the Dooranee alliance, and of col- 


* Mr. Clerk leant upon and per¬ 
haps much overrated Dhian Singh’s 
capacity, “ his military talents, and 
aptitude for business.” (Mr. Clerk 
to Government, 7th Nov. 1840, and 
13th May, 1841.) General Ventura, 
for instance, considered the raja to 
possess a very slender understanding, 
and in such a matter he may be held 
to be a fair as well as a competent 
judge, although personally averse to 
the minister. 

f Government to Mr. Clerk, 2d 


Aug., and Mr. Clerk to Government, 
20th Aug. 1841. 

\ There was no want of gallant 
and capable men in the subordinate 
ranks of the army, and it is known 
that the lamented Major Pottinger 
recorded his disapprobation of the re¬ 
treat so fatuitously commenced and 
so fatally ended, although, to give 
validity to documents, or an appear¬ 
ance of unanimity to counsels, he un¬ 
fortunately put his name to the orders 
requiring the surrender of Candahar 
and Jellalabad. 



Chap. VIII.] 


DISTRUST OF THE SIKHS. 


253 


lecting a force on the Indus, or even so far back as the 
Sutlej, there to fight for the empire of Hindostan with 
the torrents of exulting Afghans which the startled 
imaginations of Englishmen readily conjured up.* No 
confidence was placed in the efficiency or the friendship 
of the Sikhs t; and although their aid was always 
considered of importance, the mode in which it was 
asked and used only served to sink the Lahore army 
lower than before in British estimation.t 

Four regiments of Sepoys marched from Feerozpoor 
without guns, and unsupported by cavalry, to vainly 
endeavor to force the Pass of Khyber; and the Sikh 
troops at Peshawur were urged by the local British 
authorities in their praiseworthy ardor, rather than 
deliberately ordered by their own government at the 
instance of its ally, to co-operate in the attempt, or in¬ 
deed to march alone to Jellalabad. The fact that the 
English had been beaten was notorious, and the belief 


* Compare Government to the 
Commander-in-Chief, 2d Dec. 1841, 
and 10th Feb. 1842; Government 
to Mr. Clerk, 10th Feb. 1842; and 
Government to Gen. Pollock, 24th 
Feb. 1842. Of those who recorded 
their opinions about the policy to be 
followed at the moment, it may be 
mentioned that Mr. Robertson, the 
lieutenant governor of Agra, and 
Sir Herbert Maddock, the political 
secretary, advised a stand at Pesha¬ 
wur ; and that Mr. Prinsep, a mem¬ 
ber of council, and Mr. Colvin, the 
Governor General’s private secre¬ 
tary, recommended a withdrawal to 
the Sutlej, All, however, contem¬ 
plated ulterior operations. 

The Commander-in-Chief, it is 
well known, thought the means of 
the English for defending India itself 
somewhat scanty, and Mr. Clerk 
thought the Sikhs would be unable 
to check the invasion of moun¬ 
taineers, which would assuredly take 
place were Jellalabad to fall. (Mr. 
Clerk to Government, 15th Jan, 
1842.) 


f Government to the Commander- 
in-Chief, 15th March, 1842. 

j Mr. Colvin, in the minute re¬ 
ferred to in the preceding note, 
grounds his proposition for with¬ 
drawing to the Sutlej partly on Mr. 
Clerk’s low estimate of the Sikhs, 
and their presumed inability to re¬ 
sist the Afghans. Colonel Wade 
seems to have had a somewhat similar 
opinion of the comparative prowess 
of the two races, on the fair pre¬ 
sumption that the note (p. 535.) of 
Moonshee Shaliamut Alee’s Sikhs and 
Afghans is his. He says the Sikhs 
always dreaded the Khvberees ; and, 
indeed, General Avitabile could also 
take up the notion with some reason, in 
one sense, as the magistrate of a dis¬ 
trict surrounded by marauding high¬ 
landers, and with sufficient adroit¬ 
ness in another when he did not 
desire to see Sikh regiments hurried 
into mountain defiles at the instance 
of the English authorities. (Com¬ 
pare the Calcutta Review , No. III. 

p. 182.) 


1841. 


The English 
distrustful 
of the Sikhs 
but yet ur¬ 
gent upon 
them for 
aid. 



254 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[CnAP.,vm. 


i84i. in their alarm was welcome: the Sikh governor was 

' v obliged, in the absence of orders, to take the sense of 

the regimental 4 ‘'punches” or committees ; and the hasty 
requisition to march was rejected, through fear alone, 
as the English said, but really with feelings in which 
contempt, distrust, and apprehension were all mixed. 
The district Governor General, Avitabile, who fortu¬ 
nately still retained his province, freely gave what aid 
he could ; some pieces of artillery were furnished as 
well as abundance of ordinary supplies, and the British 
detachment effected the relief of Alee Musjid. But the 
unpardonable neglect of going to the fort without the 
food which had been provided, obliged the garrison to 
retreat after a few days, and the disinclination of the 
Sikhs to fight the battles of strangers communicated 
itself to the mercenary soldiers of the English, and 
thus added to the Governor General’s dislike of the 
Afghan connection.* 

An army of The necessity of at least relieving the garrison of 
assembled? Jehalabad. was paramount, and in the spring of 1842 a 
1842. we ll equipped British force arrived at Peshawur ; but 
the active co-operation of the Sikhs was still desirable, 
and it was sought for under the terms of an obsolete 
article of the tripartite treaty with Shah Sliooja, which 
gave Lahore a subsidy of two lakhs of rupees in ex¬ 
change for the services of 5000 men.t Slier Singh 
was willing to assist beyond this limited degree ; he 
greatly facilitated the purchase of grain and the hire of 

* The statements in this paragraph ance during the campaign in the 
are mainly taken from the author’s ways their experience taught them 
notes of official and demi-official to be the most likely to lead to 
correspondence. The letter of Go- success. 

vernment to Mr. Clerk, of the 7th f See Government to Mr. Clerk, 
Feb. 1842, may also be referred to 3d May and 23d July, 1842. The 
about the failure to hold Alee Mus- English agents, however, rather 
jid; and, further, it may be men- tauntingly and imploringly reminded 
tioned that Mr. Clerk, in his letter the Sikh authorities that they were 
of the 10th February, pointed out, bound to have such a force ready by 
that although the Sikhs might not agreement as well as by friendship, 
willingly co-operate in any sudden than formally revived the demand 
assault planned by the English, they for its production under the stipu- 
would be found ready to give assist- lations of the treaty. 


Chat. VIII.] CO-OPERATION OF GOLAB SINGH. 


255 


carriage cattle in the Punjab, and his auxiliaries could 
be made to outnumber the troops of his allies ; but he 
felt uneasy about the proceedings of the Sindhanwala 
chiefs, one of whom had gone to Calcutta to urge his 
own claims, or those of Maee Chund Kour, and all of 
whom retained influence in the Sikh ranks. He was 
assured that the refugees should not be allowed to dis¬ 
turb his reign, and there thus seemed to be no obstacle 
in the way of his full co-operation.* But the genuine 
Sikhs were held by the English to be both mutinous in 
disposition and inferior in warlike spirit; the soldiers 
of Jummoo were preferred, and Golab Singh was re¬ 
quired to proceed to Peshawur to repress the insub¬ 
ordinate “ Khalsa,” and to give General Pollock the 
assurance of efficient aid.t The raja was at the time 
completing the reduction of some insurgent tribes be¬ 
tween Cashmeer and Attok, and his heart was in Tibet, 
where he had himself lost an army and a kingdom. 
He went, but he knew the temper of his own hill levies : 
he was naturally unwilling to run any risk by following 
the modes of strangers to which he was unused, and he 
failed in rendering the Sikh battalions as decorous and 
orderly as English regiments. His prudence and ill 
success were looked upon as collusion and insincerity, 
and he was thought to be in league with Akber Khan 
for the destruction of the army of an obnoxious Euro¬ 
pean power.t Still his aid was held to be essential, 
and the local British officers proposed to bribe him by 

* Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 2d Jan. and 31st March, ment, 15th Jan., 10th Feb., and 6th 
1842, and Government to Mr. Clerk, May, 1842. Government at first 
17th Jan. and 12th May, 1842. seemed indifferent whether Golab 
With regard to assistance rendered Singh went or not; and, indeed, 
by the Sikhs during the Afghan Mr. Clerk himself rather suggested 
war in furnishing escorts, grain, and than required the raja’s employment; 
carriage for the British troops, Mr. but suggestions or wishes could not, 
Clerk’s letters of the 15th Jan., under the circumstances, be mis- 
18th May, and 14th June, 1842, construed. 

may be quoted. In the last it is J Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- 
stated that 17,381 camels had been ment, 19th March, 1842. 
procured through Sikh agency be¬ 
tween 1839 and 1842, 


1841. 


Golab Singh 
sent to co¬ 
operate. 



256 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1341. 


Caubul re¬ 
taken. 


Discussions 
regarding 
Jellalabad, 
and the 
limits of 
Sikh domi¬ 
nion. 


the offer of Jellalabad, independent of his sovereign 
Sher Singh. The scheme was justly condemned by 
Mr. Clerk # , the Khyber Pass was forced in the month 
of April, and the auxiliary Sikhs acquitted themselves 
to the satisfaction of the English general, without any 
promises having been made to the Raja of Jummoo, 
who gladily hurried to the Ludakh frontier to look 
after interests dearer to him than the success or the 
vengeance of foreigners. It was designed by General 
Pollock to leave the whole of the Sikh division at 
Jellalabad, to assist in holding that district, while the 
main English army went to Caubul ; but the proper in¬ 
terposition of Colonel Lawrence t enabled a portion of 
the Lahore troops to share in that retributive march, as 
they had before shared in the first invasion, and fully 
shown their fitness for meeting difficulties when left to 
do so in their own way. 

The proposition of conferring Jellalabad on Golab 
Singh was taken up in a modified form by the new 
Governor General Lord Ellenborough. As his lord¬ 
ship’s views became formed, he laid it down as a prin¬ 
ciple, that neither the English nor the Sikh Government 
should hold dominion beyond the Himalayas and the 
“ Suffed Koh ” of Caubul ; and as the Dooranee alli¬ 
ance seemed to be severed, there was little to apprehend 
from Jummoo and Barukzaee intrigues. It was, there¬ 
fore, urged that Golab Singh should be required by the 
Muharaja to relinquish Ludakh, and to accept Jella¬ 
labad on equal terms of dependency on the Punjab.t 
The Sikhs were sufficiently desirous of adding to their 
dominion another Afghan district; but the terms did 


* Mr. Clerk to Government, 13th 
Feb. 1842. The officers referred to 
are Major Mackeson and Lieut.-Col. 
Sir Henry Lawrence, whose names 
are so intimately, and in so many 
ways honorably, identified with the 
career of the English in the north¬ 
west of India. 

f Lieut,-Col. Lawrence to Major 


Mackeson, 23d Aug. 1842. Lieut.- 
Col. Lawrence’s article in the Cal¬ 
cutta Review (No. III. p. 180.) may 
also be advantageously referred to 
about the proceedings at Peshawur 
under Col. Wild, Sir George Pol¬ 
lock, and Raja Golab Singh. 

f Government to Mr. Clerk, 27th 
April, 1842. 


Chap. VIII.] JELL ALA BAD : THE SIIvHS. 


<257 


not satisfy Golab Singh, nor did Sher Singh see fit to 
come to any conclusion until he should know the final 
views of the English with regard to the recognition of 
a government in Caubul.* The death of Shah Shooja 
and his suspicious proceedings were held to render the 
re-occupation of the country unnecessary, and the tri¬ 
partite treaty was declared to be at an endt; but the 
policy of a march on the Afghan capital was strongly 
urged and wisely adopted.t There seemed to be a pros¬ 
pect of wintering in Caubul, and it was not until the 
victorious troops were on their return to India, that it 
was believed the English would ever forego the posses¬ 
sion of an empire. The Sikhs then consented to take 
Jellalabad, but before the order transferring it could 
reach General Pollock§, that commander had destroyed 
the fortifications, and nominally abandoned the place to 
the king whom he had expediently set up in the Bala 
Hissar. || It is probable that Sher Singh was not un¬ 
willing to be relieved of the invidious gift, for his own 
sway in Lahore was distracted, and Dost Mahomed was 


* Mr. Clerk to Government, 18tli 
May, 1842. 

f Government to Mr. Clerk, 27th 
May and 29th July, 1842. In the 
treaty drafted by the Sikhs to take the 
place of the tripartite one, they put for¬ 
ward a claim of superiority over Sindh, 
and somewhat evaded the question 
of being parties only, instead of prin¬ 
cipals, to the acknowledgment of a 
ruler in Caubul. The treaty, how¬ 
ever, never took a definite shape. 

I Even the Sikhs talked of the 
impolicy, or, at least, the disgrace, of 
suddenly and wholly withdrawing 
from Afghanistan in the manner 
proposed. (Mr. Clerk to Govern¬ 
ment, 19th July, 1842.) Mr. Clerk 
himself was among the most prominent 
of those who at first modestly urged 
a march on Caubul, and afterwards 
manfully remonstrated against a hasty 
abandonment of the country. (See 
his letter above quoted, and also that 
of the 23d April, 1842.) 


§ The order was dated the 18th Oct. 
1842. Lord Eller.borough himself 
was not without a suspicion that the 
victorious generals might frame ex¬ 
cuses for wintering in Caubul, and 
the expedition of Sir John M‘Caski!i 
into the Kohistan was less pleasing 
to him on that account than it would 
otherwise have been. 

|| [The Calcutta Review for June, 1849, 
(p. 539.) points out that the king, 
viz. Shahpoor, son of Shah Soojah, 
was rather set up solely by the chiefs 
at Caubul than in any way by Sir 
George Pollock, who had no autho¬ 
rity to recognize any sovereign in 
Afghanistan. My expression has, in¬ 
deed, reference mainly to the prudent 
countenance afforded to a native prince 
by a foreign conqueror about to re¬ 
trace his steps through a difficult 
country, inhabited by a warlike 
people ; but as it may mislead as to 
Sir George Pollock’s actual proceed¬ 
ings, I gladly insert this note.] 


1841. 


S 



258 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VHI. 


1842. 


The Gover¬ 
nor-General 
meets the 
Sikh minis¬ 
ter and heir- 
apparent at 
Feerozpoor, 
1842. 


about to be released under the pledge of a safe passage 
through the Punjab dominions ; and it may have been 
thought prudent to conciliate the father of Akber Khan, 
so famous for his successes against the English, by the 
surrender of a possession it was inconvenient to hold.^ 
The Governor-General had prudently resolved to 
assemble an army at Feerozpoor, as a reserve in case of 
further disasters in Afghanistan, and to make known to 
the princes of India that their English masters had the 
ready means of beating any who might rebel.t Lord 
Ellenborough was also desirous of an interview with 
Sher Singh, and as gratitude was uppermost for the 
time, and added a grace even to success, it was pro¬ 
posed to thank the Muharaja in person for the proofs 
which he had afforded of his continued friendship. To 
invest the scene with greater eclat, it was further de¬ 
termined, in the spirit of the moment, to give expres¬ 
sion to British sincerity and moderation at the head of 


* The Sikhs were not unwilling 
to acquire territory, but they wished 
to see their way clearly, and they 
were unable to do so until the En¬ 
glish had determined on their own 
line of policy. The Sikhs knew in¬ 
deed of the resolution of the Go¬ 
vernor-General to sever all connec¬ 
tion with Afghanistan, but they also 
knew the sentiments of the majority 
of Englishmen about at least tem¬ 
porarily retaining it. They saw, 
moreover, that recruited armies were 
still in possession of every stronghold, 
and the policy was new to them of 
voluntarily relinquishing dominion. 
They therefore paused, and the subse¬ 
quent release of Dost Mahomed again 
fettered them when the retirement of 
the troops seemed to leave them free to 
act, for they were bound to escort the 
Ameer safely across the Punjab, and 
could not therefore make terms with 
him. The Sikhs would have worked 
through Sooltan Mahomed Khan 
and other chiefs, until they were in 
a condition to use the frequent plea 
of the English, of being able to go¬ 
vern better than dependents. (Com¬ 
pare Mr. Clerk to Government, 
2 d Sept. 1842.) 


f Lord Auckland had likewise 
thought that such a demonstration 
might be advisable. (Government 
to Mr. Clerk, 3d Dec. 1841.) Of 
measures practically identified with 
Lord Ellenborough’s administration, 
Lord Auckland may further claim 
the merit of giving the generals 
commanding in Afghanistan su¬ 
preme authority (Resolution of Go¬ 
vernment, 6th Jan. 1842), and of 
directing Sir William Nott to act 
without reference to previous in¬ 
structions, and as he might deem 
best for the safety of his troops 
and the honor of the British name. 
(Government to Sir William Nott, 
10 th Feb. 1842.) To Lord Auckland 
however, is due the doubtful praise 
of suggesting the release of Dost 
Mahomed (Government to Mr. 
Clerk, 24th Feb. 1842); and he must 
certainly bear a share of the blame 
attached to the exaggerated estimate 
formed of the dangers which threat¬ 
ened the English after the retreat 
from Caubul, and to the timorous 
rather than prudent design of falling 
hack on the Indus, or even on the 
Sutlej. 



Chap. VIII.] LORD ELLENBOROUGH : SHER SINGH. 


the two armies returning victorious from Caubul, with 
their numbers increased to nearly forty thousand men 
by the force assembled on the Sutlej. The native 
English portion of this array was considerable, and 
perhaps so many Europeans had never stood together 
under arms on Indian ground since Alexander and his 
Greeks made the Punjab a province of Macedon. The 
Sikhs generally were pleased with one cause of this 
assemblage, and they were glad to be relieved of the 
presence of the English on their western frontier; but 
Sher Singh himself did not look forward to his visit to 
Lord Ellenborough without some misgivings, although 
under other circumstances his vanity would have been 
gratified by the opportunity of displaying his power and 
magnificence. He felt his incapacity as a ruler, and 
he needlessly feared that he might be called to account 
for Sikh excesses and for a suspected intercourse with 
the hostile Ameers of Sindh then trembling for their 
fate, and even that the subjugation of the Punjab was 
to be made the stepping-stone to the complete reduction 
of Afghanistan. He had no confidence in himself; and 
he dreaded the vengeance of his followers, who believed 
him capable of sacrificing the Khalsa to his own inter¬ 
ests. Nor was Dhian Singh supposed to be willing 
that the Muharaja should meet the Governor-General, 
and his suspicious temper made him apprehensive that 
his sovereign might induce the English viceroy to 
accede to his ruin, or to the reduction of his exotic in¬ 
fluence. Thus both Sher Singh and his minister per¬ 
haps rejoiced that a misunderstanding which prevented 
the reception at Loodiana of Lehna Singh Mujeetheea, 
was seized hold of by the English to render a meeting 
doubtful or impossible.* Lord Ellenborough justly 

* On several occasions Raja Lilian p. 493.), who is believed to be Lieut. - 
Singh expressed his apprehensions of Col. Lawrence, admits Dhian Singh’s 
an English invasion, as also did aversion to a meeting between his 
Muharaja Sher Singh. (See, for in- sovereign and the British Governor- 
stance, Mr. Clerk to Government, General. The reviewer likewise de¬ 
ad Jan. 1842.) The writer of the scribes Sher Singh’s anxiety at the 
article in the Calcutta Review (No. II. time, but considers him to have been 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


260 

1842. 


took offence at a slight which, however unwittingly, 
had been really offered to him ; he was not easily ap¬ 
peased ; and when the personal apologies of the minister, 
accompanied by the young heir-apparent, had removed 
every ground of displeasure, the appointed time, the 
beginning'of January, 1843, for the breaking-up of the 
large army had arrived, and the Governor-General did 
not care to detain his war-worn regiments any longer 
from their distant stations. No interview thus took 
place with Sher Singh; but the boy prince, Pertab 
Singh, was visited by Lord Ellenborough ; and the 
rapidity with which a large escort of Sikh troops was 
crossed over the Sutlej when swollen with rain, and the 
alacrity and precision with which they manoeuvred, 
deserved to have been well noted by the English cap¬ 
tains, proud as they had reason to be of the numbers 
and achievements of their own troops. The prince 
likewise reviewed the Anglo-Indian forces, and the Sikh 
chiefs looked with interest upon the defenders of Jella- 
labad, and with unmixed admiration upon General Nott 
followed by his valiant and compact band. At last the 
armed host broke up; the plains of Feerozpoor were no 


desirous of throwing himself unre¬ 
servedly on English protection, as 
doubtless he might have been, had 
he thought himself secure from as¬ 
sassination, and that Lord Ellen¬ 
borough would have kept him seated 
on the throne of Lahore at all 
hazards. 

About the suspected hostile inter¬ 
course with the Ameers of Sindh, 
see Thornton’s History of India, vi. 
447. The Sikhs, however, were 
never required to give any explana¬ 
tion of the charges. 

The misunderstanding to which 
Sirdar Lehna Singh was a party was 
simply as follows : — The Sirdar had 
been sent to wait upon the Governor- 
General on his arrival on the frontier, 
according to ordinary ceremonial. 
It was arranged that the Sirdar 
should be received by his lordship at 
Loodiana, and the day and hour 
were fixed, and preparations duly 
made. Mr. Clerk went in person to 


meet the chief, and conduct him to 
the Governor-General’s presence, his 
understanding being that he was to 
go half the distance or so towards 
the Sikh encampment. The Sirdar 
understood or held that Mr. Clerk 
should or would come to his tent, 
and thus he sat still while Mr. Clerk 
rested half way for two hours or 
more. Lord Ellenborough thought 
the excuse of the Sirdar frivolous, 
and that offence was wantonly given, 
and he accordingly required an ex¬ 
planation to be afforded. (Govern¬ 
ment to Mr. Clerk, 15th Dec. 1842.) 
There is some reason to believe that 
the Lahore Vukeel, who was in the 
interest of Ilaja Dhian Singh, misled 
the obnoxious Lehna Singh about 
the arrangements for conducting him 
to the Governor-General’s tents, with 
the view of discrediting him both 
with his own master and with the 
English. 



Chap. VIII.] 


261 


THE SINDHANWALA CHIEFS. 


longer white with numerous camps ; and the relieved 
Sher Singh hastened, or was hurried, to Amritsir to 
return thanks to God that a great danger had passed 
away. This being over, he received Dost Mahomed 
Khan with distinction at Lahore, and in February 
(1843), entered into a formal treaty of friendship with 
the released Ameer, which said nothing about the 
English gift of Jellalabad.* 

But Sher Singh principally feared his own chiefs and 
subjects, and although the designed or fortuitous mur¬ 
der of Maee Chund Kour in June, 1842f, relieved him 
of some of his apprehensions, he felt uneasy under the 
jealous domination of Dhian Singh, and began to listen 
readily to the smooth suggestions of Bhaee Goormookh 
Singh, his priest so to speak, and who was himself of 
some religious reputation, as well as the son of a man of 
acknowledged sanctity and influence.t The English 
Government, in its well meant but impracticable desire 
to unite all parties in the country, had urged the 
restoration to favor of the Sindhanwala chiefs, who 
kept its own agents on the alert, and the Muharaja 
himself in a state of doubt or alarm.§ Sher Singh, 
from his easiness of nature, was not averse to a recon¬ 
ciliation, and by degrees he even became not unwilling 


* Government to Mr. Clerk, 15 th 
Feb. and 17th March, 1843. 

f Mr. Clerk to Government, 15th 
June, 1842. The widow of Muha¬ 
raja Khurruk Singh was so severely 
beaten, as was said by her female 
attendants, that she almost imme¬ 
diately expired. The only explana¬ 
tion offered, was that she had chidden 
the servants in question for some 
fault, and the public was naturally 
unwilling to believe Sher Singh, at 
least, guiltless of instigating the 
murder. 

J In the beginning of his reign 
Sher Singh had leant much upon an 
active and ambitious follower, named 
Jowala Singh, whose bravery was 
conspicuous during the attack on La¬ 
hore. This petty leader hoped to 

s 


supplant both the Sindhanwala chiefs 
and the Jummoo Rajas as leading 
courtiers, but he proceeded too has¬ 
tily ; he was seized and imprisoned 
by Dhian Singh in May, 1841, and 
died hy foul means immediately after¬ 
wards. (Compare Mr. Clerk to Go¬ 
vernment, 7th May and 10th June, 
1841.) 

§ Mr. Clerk to Government, 7th 
April, 1842, and Government to Mr. 
Clerk, 12th May, 1842; see also 
Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Govern¬ 
ment, 5th Sept. 1843. Mr. Clerk 
became lieutenant governor of Agra 
in June 1843, and he was succeeded 
as agent on the frontier by Lieut.- 
Col. Richmond, an officer of repute, 
who had recently distinguished him¬ 
self under Sir George Pollock. 

3 


1843. 


Dost Maho¬ 
med returns 
to Caubul, 
1843. 


Anxieties of 
Sher Singh. 


The Sind- 
hahwala 
chiefs and 
the Jummoo 
Rajas co¬ 
alesce. 



<262 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


1843 . to have the family about him as some counterpoise to 
v - *—* the Rajas of Jummoo. Neither was Dhian Singh op¬ 

posed to their return, for he thought they might be 
made some use of since Maee Chund Kour was no 
more, and thus Ajeet Singh and his uncles again took 
their accustomed places in the court of Lahore. Never¬ 
theless during the summer of 1843, Dhian Singh 
perceived that his influence over the Muharaja was 
fairly on the wane; and he had good reason to dread 
the machinations of Goormookh Singh and the pas¬ 
sions of the multitude when roused by a man of his 
character. The minister then again began to talk of 
the boy, Dhuleep Singh, and to endeavor to possess 
the minds of the Sindhahwala chiefs with the belief, 
that they had been inveigled to Lahore for their more 
assured destruction. Ajeet Singh had by this time 
become the boon companion of the Muharaja; but he 
was himself ambitious of power, and he and his uncle 
Lehna Singh grasped at the idea of making the minister 
a party to their own designs. They appeared to fall 
wholly into his views; and they would, they said, take 
sher Singh Sher Singh’s life to save their own. On the 15th 
byAjeet^ September (1843), Ajeet Singh induced the Muharaja 
Singh, sept, to inspect some levies he had newly raised ; he ap- 
15 .1843; p roac ] ie( j j as if ma k e an offering of a choice carbine, 
and to receive the commendations usual on such occa¬ 
sions, but he raised the weapon and shot his sovereign 
dead. The remorseless Lehna Singh took the life of 
the boy Per tab Singh at the same time, and the kins¬ 
men then joined Dhian Singh, and proceeded with him 
to the citadel to proclaim a new king. The hitherto 
wary minister was now caught in his own toils, and he 
who like- became the dupe of his accomplices. He was separated 
Dh?an UtS from his immediate attendants, as if for the sake of 
death sept £ reater P r i yac y> an d shot by the same audacious chief 
15 ? 1843 ? who h ac l just imbrued his hands in the blood of their 
common master.* The conspirators were thus far suc- 


* Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Government, 17th and 18th Sept. 1843. 


Chap. VIII.] DHULEEP SINGH PROCLAIMED. 


263 


cessful in their daring* and in their crimes, but they ne- 1843. 
glected to slay or imprison the son of their last victim ; ’ Y ' 

and the minds of the soldiers do not seem to have been 
prepared for the death of Dhian Singh, as they were for 
that of the Muharaja. The youthful Heera Singh was Heerasingh 
roused by his own danger and his filial duty; he could fatherT h S 
plausibly accuse the Sindhanwalas of being alone guilty 
of the treble murder which had taken place, and he 
largely promised rewards to the troops if they would 
avenge the death of their friend and his father. The 
army generally responded to his call, and the citadel 
was immediately assaulted; yet so strong was the 
feeling of aversion to Jummoo ascendancy among the 
Sikh people, that could the feeble garrison have held 
out for three or four days, until the first impulse of 
anger and surprize had passed away, it is almost 
certain that Heera Singh must have fled for his life. 

But the place was entered on the second evening; the 
wounded Lehna Singh was at once slain ; and Ajeet 
Singh, in attempting to boldly escape over the lofty 
walls, fell and was also killed.* Dhuleep Singh was Dhuleep 
then proclaimed Muharaja, and Heera Singh was raised claimed^ 
to the high and fatal office of Vuzeer ; but he was all Muharaja, 
powerful for the moment; the Sindhanwala possessions Sept ‘ 1843 ‘ 
were confiscated, and their dwellings razed to the 
ground : nor did the youthful avenger stay until he had 
found out and put to death Bhaee Goormookh Singh 
and Misser Behlee Ram, the former of whom was 
believed to have connived at the death of his confiding 
master, and to have instigated the assassination of the 
minister ; and the latter of whom had always stood 
high in the favor of the great Muharaja, although 
strongly opposed to the aggrandizement of the Jummoo 
family. Sirdar Uttur Singh Sindhanwala, who was 
hurrying to Lahore when he heard of the capture of the 
citadel, made a hasty attempt to rouse the village popu- 


* Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Government, 20th Sept. 1843. 


264 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


1843 . lation in his favor through the influence of Bhaee Beer 

'- y ' Singh, a devotee of great repute ; but the “ Khalsa” 

was almost wholly represented by the army, and he 
crossed at once into the British territories to avoid the 
emissaries of Heera Singh.* 

The power The new minister added two rupees and a half, or 
increases!* 17 five shillings a month, to the pay of the common soldiers, 
and he also discharged some arrears due to them. The 
army felt that it had become the master of the state, 
and it endeavored to procure donatives, or to place 
itself right in public estimation, by threatening to eject 
the Jummoo faction, and to make the Bhaee Beer Singh, 
already mentioned, a king as well as a priest.t Jowahir 
Singh, the maternal uncle of the boy Muharaja, already 
grasped the highest post he could occupy; nor was the 
minister’s family united within itself. Soochet Singh’s 
vanity was mortified by the ascendancy of his nephew, 
a stripling, unacquainted with war, and inexperienced 
in business ; and he endeavored to form a party which 
should place him in power, t The youthful Vuzeer 
naturally turned to his other uncle, Golab Singh, for 
support, and that astute chief cared not who held titles 
so long as he was deferred to and left unrestrained; but 
the Sikhs were still averse to him personally, and jealous 
lest he should attempt to garrison every stronghold with 
Raja Golab his own followers. Golab Singh was, therefore, cau¬ 
tious in his proceedings, and before he reached Lahore, 
on the 10th of November, he had sought to ingratiate 
himself with all parties, save Jowahir Singh, whom he 
sirdar Jo- may have despised as of no capacity. § Jowahir Singh 
Singh resented this conduct, and taking advantage of the ready 
Nov. 24. access to the Muharaja’s person which his relationship 
1843. gave him, he went with the child in his arms, on the 
occasion of a review of some troops, and urged the 

* Lieut.-Col. Richmond’s letters j: Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- 
from 21st Sept, to 2d Oct. 1843. vernment, 16th and 22d Oct. 1843. 

t Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- § Compare Lieut.-Col. Richmond 
vernment, 26th Sept. 1843. to Government, 26th Sept, and 16th 

Nov. 1843. 


Chap. VIII.] INSURRECTION OF CASHMEERA SINGH. 


265 


assembled regiments to depose the Jummoo Rajas, 
otherwise he would fly with his nephew, their acknow¬ 
ledged prince, into the British territories. But the 
design of procuring aid from the English was displeas¬ 
ing to the Sikhs, both as an independent people and as 
a licentious soldiery, and Jowahir Singh was immedi¬ 
ately made a prisoner, and thus received a lesson which 
influenced his conduct during the short remainder of his 
life.* 

Nevertheless, Heera Singh continued to be beset with 
difficulties. There was one Futteh Khan Towana, a 
personal follower of Dhian Singh, who was supposed to 
have been privy to the intended assassination of his 
master, and to have designedly held back when Ajeet 
Singh took the raja to one side. This petty leader fled 
as soon as the army attacked the citadel, and endea¬ 
vored to raise an insurrection in his native province of 
Dera Ismaeel Khan, which caused the greater anxiety, 
as the attempt was supposed to be countenanced by the 
able and hostile Governor of Mooltan.t Scarcely had 
measures been adopted for reducing the petty rebellion, 
when Cashmeera Singh and Peshawura Singh, sons born 
to, or adopted by, Runjeet Singh at the period of his 
conquest of the two Afghan provinces from which they 
were named, started up as the rivals of the child Dhuleep, 
and endeavored to form a party by appearing in open 
opposition at Seealkot. Some regiments ordered to 
Peshawur joined the two princes ; the Mahometan regi¬ 
ments at Lahore refused to march against them unless 
a pure Sikh force did the same; and it was with diffi¬ 
culty, and only with the aid of Raja Golab Singh, that 
the siege of Seealkot was formed. The two young men 
soon showed themselves to be incapable of heading a 
party ; Heera Singh relaxed in his efforts against them; 
and towards the end of March he raised the siege, and 


1844. 


Futteh 
Khan To¬ 
wana. 


The insur¬ 
rection of 
Cashmeera 
Singh and 
Peshawura 
Singh, 1843 
—1844. 


* Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- f Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go¬ 
vernment, 28th Nov. 1843. vernment, 12th Dec. 1843. 


266 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1844. 

Jowahir 

Singh. 


The at¬ 
tempt of 
Raja Soo- 
chet Singh, 
March, 
1844. 


The insur¬ 
rection of 
Sirdar 
Uttur Singh 
and Bhaee 
Beer Singh, 
May, 1844. 


allowed them to go at large.* The minister had, how¬ 
ever, less reason to be satisfied with the success of Jowa¬ 
hir Singh, who, about the same time, induced his guards 
to release him, and he was unwillingly allowed to assume 
his place in the court as the uncle of the child to whose 
sovereignty in the abstract all nominally deferred.t 

Raja Soochet Singh was believed to have been a 
secret party to the attempts of Cashmeera Singh, and the 
release of Jowahir Singh was also probably effected with 
his cognizance. The raja believed himself to be popular 
with the army, and especially with the cavalry portion 
of it, which having an inferior organization began to 
show some jealousy of the systematic proceedings of the 
regular infantry and artillery. He had retired to the 
hills with great reluctance; he continued intent upon 
supplanting his nephew; and suddenly, on the evening 
of the 26th of March, 1844, he appeared at Lahore 
with a few followers ; but he appealed in vain to the 
mass of the troops, partly because Heera Singh had been 
liberal in gifts and profuse in promises, and partly be¬ 
cause the shrewd deputies who formed the Punchayets 
of the regiments, had a sense of their own importance, 
and were not to be won for purposes of mere faction, 
without diligent and judicious seeking. Hence, on the 
morning after the arrival of the sanguine and hasty 
raja, a large force marched against him without demur; 
but the chief was brave, he endeavored to make a stand 
in a ruinous building, and he died fighting to the last, 
although his little band was almost destroyed by the fire 
of a numerous artillery before the assailants could reach 
the inclosure.t 

Within two months after this rash undertaking, Uttur 
Singh Sindhahwala, who had been residing at Tha- 
nehsir, made a similar ill-judged attempt to gain over 
the army, and to expel Heera Singh. He crossed the 

* Lieut - Col. Richmond to Go- J Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go¬ 
vernment, 23d and 27th March, 1844. vernment, 29th March, 1844. 

t Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go¬ 
vernment, 27th March, 1844. 


Chap. VIII.] 


SUBMISSION OF MOOLTAN. 


267 


Sutlej on the 2d May, but instead of moving to a dis- 1344 . 

tance so as to avoid premature collisions, and to enable v -*—' 

him to appeal to the feelings of the Sikhs, he at once 
joined Bhaee Beer Singh, whose religious repute at¬ 
tracted numbers of the agricultural population, and 
took up a position almost opposite Feerozpoor, and 
within forty miles of the capital. The disaffected Cash- 
meera Singh joined the chief, but Heera Singh stood as 
a suppliant before the assembled Khalsa, and roused the 
feelings of the troops by reminding them that the Sind- 
hanwalas looked to the English for support. A large 
force promptly marched from Lahore, but it was wished 
to detach Bhaee Beer Singh from the rebel, for to assail 
so holy a man was held to be sacrilege by the soldiers, 
and on the seventh of the month deputies were sent to 
induce the Bhaee to retire. Some expressions moved 
the anger of Sirdar Uttur Singh, and he slew one of 
the deputies with his own hand. This act led to an 
immediate attack. Uttur Singh and Cashmeera Singh 
were both killed, and it was found that a cannon shot 
had likewise numbered Bhaee Beer Singh with the 
slain. The commander on this occasion was Labh 
Singh, a Rajpoot of Jummoo, and the possession of the 
family of Cashmeera Singh seemed to render his suc¬ 
cess more complete ; but the Sikh infantry refused to 
allow the women and children to be removed to Lahore ; 
and Labh Singh, alarmed by this proceeding and by the 
lamentations over the death of Beer Singh, hastened to 
the capital to ensure his own safety.* 

Heera Singh was thus successful against two main The Cover- 
enemies of his rule, and as he had also come to an 
understanding with the Governor of Mooltan, the pro- submits, 
ceedings of Futteh Khan Towana gave him little un¬ 
easiness, t The army itself was his great cause of 
anxiety, not lest the Sikh dominion should be contracted, 
but lest he should be rejected as its master; for the 

* Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- f Compare Lieut.-Col. Richmond 
vernment, 10th, 11th, and 12th May, to Government, 29th April, 1844. 

1844. 


HISTORY OF THE SIKIIS. [Chap. VIII. 


£68 

1844 . Punchayets, although bent on retaining their own power, 

*- Y -- and on acquiring additional pay and privileges for their 

constituents the soldiers, were equally resolved on main¬ 
taining the integrity of the empire, and they arranged 
among themselves about the relief of the troops in the 
provinces. On the frontiers, indeed, the Sikhs con¬ 
tinued to exhibit their innate vigor, and towards the 
Ghilghit re- end of 1843 the secluded principality of Ghilghit was 
duced,i843. overruri a nd annexed to Cashmeer. The Punchayets 
likewise felt that it was the design of the raja and his 
advisers to disperse the Sikh army over the country, 
and to raise additional corps of hill men, but the com¬ 
mittees would not allow a single regiment to quit 
Lahore without satisfying themselves of the necessity of 
HeeraSingh the measure ; and thus Heera Singh was induced to 
suspicions ta b e a dvantage °f a projected relief of the British troops 
of the in Sindh, and the consequent march of several bat- 
Engiish. talions towards the Sutlej, to heighten or give a color 
to his own actual suspicions, and to hint that a near 
danger threatened the Sikhs on the side of the English. 
The “ Khalsa” was most willing to encounter that 
neighbor, and a brigade was induced to move to 
Kussoor, and others to shorter distances from the capi¬ 
tal, under the plea, as avowed to the British authorities, 
of procuring forage and supplies with greater facility.* 
Such had indeed been Runjeet Singh’s occasional prac¬ 
tice when no assemblage of British forces could add to 
ofthTBri 7 eVer P resent f ears ^j hut Heera Singh’s apprehen- 
tish Sepoys sions of his own army and of his English allies were 
sindif d t0 l essene d by bis rapid successes, and by the disgraceful 
spirit which then animated the regular regiments in the 
British service. The Sepoys refused to proceed to 
Sindh, and the Sikhs watched the progress of the 
mutiny with a pleased surprize. It was new to them 
to see these renowned soldiers in opposition to their 
government; but any glimmering hopes of fatal embar- 

* Compare Lieut.-Col. Richmond f See for instance Sir David Och- 
to Government, 20th Dec. 1843, and terloney to Government, 16th Oct. 
23d March, 1844. 1812. 


Chap. VIII.] 


DISCUSSIONS WITH THE SIKHS. 


269 


rassment to the colossal power of the foreigners were 
dispelled by the march of European troops, by the good 
example of the irregular cavalry, and by the returning 
sense of obedience of the Sepoys themselves. The 
British forces proceeded to Sindh, and the Lahore de¬ 
tachment was withdrawn from Kussoor.* 

Nevertheless there were not wanting causes of real 
or alleged dissatisfaction with the British Government, 
which at last served the useful purpose of engaging the 
attention of the Lahore soldiery. The protected Sikh 
Raja of Naba had given a village, named Mowran, to 
Runjeet Singh at the Muharaja’s request, in order that 
it might be bestowed on Dhunna Singh, a Naba subject, 
but who stood high in favour w r ith the master of the 
Punjab. The village was so given in 1819, or after 
the introduction of the English supremacy, but without 
the knowledge of the English authorities, which circum¬ 
stance rendered the alienation invalid, if it were argued 
that the village had become separated from the British 
sovereignty. The Raja of Naba became displeased with 
Dhunna Singh, and he resumed his gift in the year 
1848 ; but in so doing his soldiers wantonly plundered 
the property of the feudatory, and thus gave the 
Lahore Government a ground of complaint, of which 
advantage was taken for party purposes.! But Heera 
Singh and his advisers took greater exception still at 
the decision of the British Government with regard to 
a quantity of coin and bullion which Raja Soochet Singh 
had secretly deposited in Feerozpoor, and which his 
servants were detected in endeavoring to remove after 
his death. The treasure was estimated at 1,500,000 
rupees, and it was understood to have been sent to 
Feerozpoor during the recent Afghan war, for the pur¬ 
pose of being offered as part of an ingratiatory loan to 
the English Government, which was borrowing money 
at the time from the protected Sikh chiefs. The Lahore 


1844. 


Discussions 
with the 
English 
about the 
village 
Mowran, 


and about 
treasure 
buried by 
Soochet 
Singh. 


* Compare Lieut.-Col. Richmond f Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go¬ 
to Government, 29th April, 1844. vernment, 18th and 28th May, 1844. 


270 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. YIII. 


1844. minister claimed the treasure both as the escheated pro- 
v ' perty of a feudatory without male heirs of his body, and 
as the confiscated property of a rebel killed in arms 
against his sovereign ; but the British Government con¬ 
sidered the right to the property to be unaffected by the 
owner’s treason, and required that the title to it, accord¬ 
ing to the laws of Jummoo or of the Punjab, should be 
regularly pleaded and proved in a British court. It 
was argued in favor of Lahore that no British subject 
or dependent claimed the treasure, and that it might be 
expediently made over to the ruler of the Punjab for 
surrender to the legal or customary owner; but the 
supreme British authorities would not relax further from 
the conventional law of Europe than to say, that if the 
Muharaja would write that the Rajas Golab Singh and 
Heera Singh assented to the delivery of the treasure to 
the Sikh state for the purpose of being transferred to 
the rightful owners, it would no longer be detained. 
This proposal was not agreed to, partly because differ¬ 
ences had in the mean time arisen between the uncle 
and nephew, and partly because the Lahore councillors 
considered their original grounds of claim to be irre¬ 
fragable, according to Indian law and usage, and thus 
the money remained a source of dissatisfaction, until the 
English stood masters in Lahore, and accepted it as 
part of the price of Cashmeer, when the valley was 
alienated to Raja Golab Singh.* 


* For the discussions about the 
surrender or the detention of the 
treasure, see the letters of Lieut.- 
Colonel Richmond to Government 
of the 7th April, 3d and 27th May, 
25th July, 10th September, and 5th 
and 25th October, 1844; and of Go¬ 
vernment to Lieut. - Colonel Rich¬ 
mond of the 19th and 22d April, 17th 
May, and 10th August of the same 
year. 

The principle laid down*of deciding 
the claim to the treasure at a British 
tribunal, and according to the laws of 
Lahore or of Jummoo, does not dis¬ 
tinguish between public and indivi¬ 


dual right of heirship ; or rather it 
decides the question with reference 
solely to the law in private cases. 
Throughout India, the practical rule 
has ever been that such property shall 
be administered to agreeably to the 
customs of the tribe or province to 
which the deceased belonged; and 
very frequently, when the only liti¬ 
gants are subjects of one and the 
same foreign state, it is expediently 
made over to the sovereign of that 
state for adjudication, on the plea 
that the rights of the parties can be 
best ascertained on the spot, and that 
every ruler is a renderer of justice. 


Chap. VIII.] PUNDIT JULLA AND HIS INFLUENCE. 


271 


Heera Singh had, in his acts and successes, sur¬ 
passed the general expectation, and the manner in 
which affairs were carried on seemed to argue unlooked- 
for abilities of a high order ; but the Raja himself had 
little more than a noble presence and a conciliatory 
address to recommend him, and the person who directed 
every measure was a Brahmin Pundit, named Julia, 
the family priest, so to speak, of the Jummoo brothers, 
and the tutor of Dliian Singh’s sons. This crafty and 
ambitious man retained all the influence over the 
youthful minister which he had exercised over the 
boyish pupil on whom Runjeet Singh lavished favors. 
Armies had marched, and chiefs had been vanquished, 
as if at the bidding of the preceptor become councillor. 
His views expanded, and he seems to have entertained 
the idea of founding a dynasty of “ Peshwahs ” among 
the rude Juts of the Punjab, as had been done by one 
of his tribe among the equally rude Mahrattas of the 
south. He fully perceived that the Sikh army must be 


In the present instance, the imper¬ 
fection of the International Law of 
Europe may be more to blame than 
the Government of India and the 
legal authorities of Calcutta, for re¬ 
fusing to acknowledge the right of an 
allied and friendly state to the pro¬ 
perty of a childless rebel; to which 
property, moreover, no British sub¬ 
ject or dependent preferred a claim. 
Vattel lays it down that a stranger’s 
property remains a part of the aggre¬ 
gate wealth of his nation, and that 
the right to it is to be determined 
according to the laws of his own 
country (book 11. chap. viii. sects. 
109 and 110.); but in the section in 
question reference is solely had to 
cases in which subjects or private 
parties are litigants; although Mr. 
Chitty, in his note to sect. 103. (ed. 
1834) shows that foreign sovereigns 
can in England sue, at least, British 
subjects. 

The oriental customary law with 
regard to the estates and property of 
Jagheerdars (feudal beneficiaries) 
may be seen in Bernier’s Travels (i. 
183—187.), [and it almost seems 


identical with that anciently in force 
among the Anglo-Saxons with refer¬ 
ence to “ nobles by service,” the fol¬ 
lowers of a lord or king. (See 
Kemble’s Saxons in England , i. 178. 
&c.)] The right of the Govern¬ 
ment is full, and it is based on the 
feeling or principle that a beneficiary 
has only the use during life of estates 
or offices, and that all he may have 
accumulated, through parsimony or 
oppression, is the property of the 
state. It may be difficult to decide 
between a people and an expelled so¬ 
vereign, about his guilt or his ty¬ 
ranny, but there can be none in 
deciding between an allied state and 
its subject about treason or rebellion. 
Neither refugee traitors nor patriots 
are allowed to abuse their asylum by 
plotting against the Government 
which has cast them out; and an ex¬ 
tension of the principle would pre¬ 
vent desperate adventurers defrauding 
the state which has reared and heaped 
favors on them, by removing their 
property previous to engaging in rash 
and criminal enterprises* 


1844. 


HeeraSingh 
guided by 
Pundit 
Julia, his 
preceptor. 



HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


272 

1844. conciliated, and also that it must be employed. He 

'-*-' despised, and with some reason, the spirit and capacity 

of most of the titular chiefs of the country; and he felt 
that Raja Golab Singh absorbed a large proportion of 
the revenues of the country, and seriously embarrassed 
the central government by his overgrown power and 
influence. It was primarily requisite to keep the army 
well and regularly paid, and hence the Pundit pro¬ 
ceeded without scruple to sequester several of the fiefs 
of the sirdars, and gradually to inspire the soldiery 
with the necessity of a march against Jummoo. Nor 
was he without a pretext for denouncing Golab Singh, 
as that unscrupulous chief had lately taken possession of 
the estates of Raja Soochet Singh, to which he re¬ 
garded himself as the only heir. # 

JuUaand Julia showed vigour and capacity in all he did, but 
Golab he proceeded too hastily in some matters, and he 

singh. attempted too much at one time. He did not, perhaps, 

understand the Sikh character in all its depths and 
ramifications, and he probably undervalued the subtlety 
of Golab Singh. The raja, indeed, w~as induced to 
divide the Jagheers of Soochet Singh with his nephew t, 
but Futteh Khan Towana again excited an insurrection 
in the Derajat t ; Chutter Singh Atareewala took up 
arms near Rawil Pindee §, and the Mahometan tribes 
south-west of Cashmeer were encouraged in rebellion 
by the dexterous and experienced chief whom Pundit 
Julia sought to crush. H Peshawura Singh again aspired 
to the sovereignty of the Punjab ; he was supported by 
Golab Singh, and Julia at last perceived the necessity 
of coming to terms with one so formidable. % A recon¬ 
ciliation was accordingly patched up, and the raja sent 
his son Sohun Singh to Lahore. ## The hopes of 

* Compare Lieut.-Col. Richmond 0 Major Broadfoot to Govern- 
to Government, 13th Aug. and 10th ment, 24th Nov. 1844. 

Oct., 1844. Lt.-Col. Richmond to Govern- 

f Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- ment,16th Oct. 1844, and MajorBroad- 
vernment, 30th Oct. 1844. foot to Government, 24th Nov. 1844. 

t Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- ** Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go¬ 
vernment, 14th June, 1844. vernment, 30th Oct. 1844, and Major 

§ Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- Broadfoot to Government, 13th Nov. 
vernment, 16th Oct. 1844. and 16th Dec. 1844. 


Chap. VIII.] 


PUNDIT JULLA’S POLICY. 


273 


Peshawura Singh then vanished, and he fled for safety 1844 . 
to the south of the Sutlej.* ' 9 

Pundit Julia made the additional mistake of forget- Pundit 
ting that the Sikhs were not jealous of Golab Singh ^e" 
alone, but of all strangers to their faith and race; and Sikhs, and 
in trying to crush the chiefs, he had forgotten that they Queei^mo- 
were Sikhs equally with the soldiers, and that the ther. 

Khalsa ” was a word which could be used to unite the 
high and low. He showed no respect even to sirdars 
of ability and means. Lehna Singh Mujeetheea quitted 
the Punjab, on pretence of a pilgrimage, in the month 
of March, 1844t, and the only person who was raised 
to any distinction was the unworthy Lai Singh, a 
Brahmin, and a follower of the Rajas of Jummoo, but 
who was understood to have gained a disgraceful influ¬ 
ence over the impure mind of Ranee Jindan. The 
Pundit again, in his arrogance, had ventured to use 
some expressions of impatience and disrespect towards 
the mother of the Muharaja, and he had habitually 
treated Jowahir Singh, her brother, with neglect and 
contempt. The impulsive soldiery was wrought upon 
by the incensed woman and ambitious man; the relict 
of the great Muharaja appealed to the children of the 
Khalsa, already excited by the proscribed chiefs, and 
Heera Singh and Pundit Julia perceived that their rule 
was at an end. On the 21st December, 1844, they Heera 
endeavored to avoid the wrath of the Sikh soldiery by pundit^ 
a sudden flight from the capital, but they were over- Julia fly, 
taken and slain before they could reach Jummoo, along overtaken 
with Sohun Singh, the cousin of the minister, and and put to 
Labh Singh, so lately hailed as a victorious commander, 

The memory of Pundit Julia continued to be execrated, 
but the fate of Heera Singh excited some few regrets, 

* Major Broadfoot to Govern- lowance of a thousand rupees a 
ment, 14th and 18th Nov. 1844. month. 

Major Broadfoot, who succeeded f Lehna Singh went first to Hurd- 
Lieut.-Col. Richmond as agent on war and afterwards to Benares. He 
the frontier on the 1st Nov. 1844, re- next visited Gya and Juggernath and 
ceived Peshawura Singh with civili- Calcutta, and he was residing in the 
ties unusual under the circumstances, last named place when hostilities 
and proposed to assign him an al- broke out with the Sikhs. 


274 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


1844. 


Jowahir 
Singh and 
Lai Singh 
attain 
power. 


The Sikh 
army moves 
against 
Jummo. 


for he had well avenged the death of his father, and he 
had borne his dignities with grace and modesty.* 

The sudden breaking up of Heera Singh’s govern¬ 
ment caused some confusion for a time, and the state 
seemed to be without a responsible head; but it was 
gradually perceived that Jowahir Singh, the brother, 
and Lai Singh, the favorite of the Ranee, would form 
the most influential members of the administration.f 
Peshawura Singh, indeed, escaped from the custody of 
the British authorities, by whom he had been placed 
under surveillance, when he fled across the Sutlej ; but 
he made no attempt at the moment to become supreme, 
and he seemed to adhere to those who had so signally 
avenged him on Heera Singh, t The services of the 
troops were rewarded by the addition of half a rupee 
a month to the pay of the common soldier, many fiefs 
were restored, and the cupidity of all parties in the 
state was excited by a renewal of the designs against 
Golab Singh. § The disturbances in the mountains of 
Cashmeer were put down, the insurgent Futteh Khan 
was taken into favor, Peshawur was secure against 
the power of all the Afghans, although it was known 
that Golab Singh encouraged the reduced Barukzaees 
with promises of support ||; but it was essential to 
the government that the troops should be employed: it 
was pleasing to the men to be able to gratify their 
avarice or their vengeance, and they therefore marched 
against Jummoo with alacrity, 

Golab Singh, who knew the relative inferiority of his 
soldiers, brought all his arts into play. He distributed 
his money freely among the Punchayets of regiments, 
he gratified the members of these committees by his 


* Compare Major Broad foot to Go- § Compare Major Broadfoot to 

vernment, 24th and 28th Dec. 1844. Government, 28th Dec. 1844, and 2d 
f Compare Major Broadfoot to Jan. 1845. 

Government, 24th and 28th Dec. j| Major Broadfoot to Govern- 
1844. ment, 16th Jan. 1845. 

\ Compare Major Broadfoot to The troops further rejected the 

Government, 28th Dec. 1844, and terms to which the Lahore court 
4th Jan. 1845. As Major Broad- seemed inclined to come with Golab 
foot, however, points out, the prince Singh. (Major Broadfoot to Govern- 
seemed ready enough to grasp at ment, 22d Jan. 1845.) 
power even so early as January. 


Ciiap. VIII.] 


SUBMISSION OF GOLAB SINGH. 


personal attentions, and he again inspired Peshawura 1M5 - t 
Singh with designs upon the sovereignty itself. He Feb.— 
promised a gratuity to the army which had marched to March, 
urge upon him the propriety of submission, he agreed to 
surrender certain portions of the general possessions of 
the family, and to pay to the state a fine of 3,500,000 
rupees.* But an altercation arose between the Lahore 
and Jummoo followers when the promised donative was 
being removed, which ended in a fatal affray ; and 
afterwards an old Sikh chief, Futteh Singh Man, and 
one Butchna, who had deserted Golab Singh’s service, 
were waylaid and slain.f The raja protested against 
the accusation of connivance or treachery ; nor is it pro¬ 
bable that at the time he desired to take the life of any 
one except Butchna, who had been variously employed 
by him, and who knew the extent of his resources. The 
act nevertheless greatly excited the Sikh soldiery, and 
Golab Singh perceived that submission alone would save 
Jummoo from being sacked. He succeeded in partially Golab singh 
gaining over two brigades, he joined their camp, and submits and 
he arrived at Lahore early in April, 1845, half a Lahore, 0 
prisoner, and yet not without a reasonable prospect of April, 1 845. 
becoming the minister of the country; for the mass of 
the Sikh soldiery thought that one so great had been 
sufficiently humbled, the Punchayets had been won by 
his money and his blandishments, and many of the old 
servants of Runjeet Singh had confidence in his ability 
and in his good will towards the state generally.! There 
yet, however, existed some remnants of the animosity 
which had proved fatal to Heera Singh; the repre¬ 
sentatives of many expelled hill chiefs were ready to 
compass the death of their greatest enemy; and an 
Akalee fanatic could take the life of the “ Dogra ” 

Raja with applause and impunity. Jowahir Singh 
plainly aimed at the office of Yuzeer, and Lai Singh’s 

* Major Broadfoot to Govern- J Compare Major Broadfoot to 
ment, 18th March, 1845. Government, 8th and 9th April, and 

f Major Broadfoot to Govern- 5th May, 1845. 
ment, 3d March, 1845. 


27 6 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


1845 - t own ambition prompted him to use his influence with 
' v * the mother of the Muharaja to resist the growing feel¬ 
ing in favor of the chief whose capacity for affairs all 
envied and dreaded. Hence Golab Singh deemed it 
prudent to avoid a contest for power at that time, and 
to remove from Lahore to a place of greater safety. 
He agreed to pay in all a fine of 6,800,000 rupees, 
to yield up nearly all the districts which had been held 
by his family, excepting his own proper fiefs, and to 
renew his lease of the salt mines between the Indus and 
Jehlum, on terms which virtually deprived him of a 
large profit, and of the political superiority in the hills 
jowahir of Rhotas.* He was present at the installation of 
many ap"" Jowahir Singh as Vuzeer on the 14th May t, and at 
pointed the betrothal of the Muharaja to a daughter of the 
MayYi Attaree chief Chutter Singh on the 10th Julyt; and 
1845. towards the end of the following month he retired to 
Jummoo, shorn of much real power, but become ac¬ 
ceptable to the troops by his humility, and to the final 
conviction of the English authorities, that the levies of 
the mountain Rajpoots were unequal to a contest even 
with the Sikh soldiery. § 

sawunMuii, The able Governor of Mooltan was assassinated in 
assSn- tan ’ 6ie month of September, 1844, by a man accused of 
ated, sept, marauding, and yet imprudently allowed a considerable 
Moot Raj degree ofliberty.il Mool Raj, the son of the Deewan, 
his son, ’ had been appointed or permitted to succeed his father 
succeeds; by the declining government of Heera Singh, and he 
showed more aptitude for affairs than was expected. 
He suppressed a mutiny among the provincial troops, 
partly composed of Sikhs, with vigor and success ; and 
he was equally prompt in dealing with a younger 
brother, who desired to have half the province assigned 
to him as the equal heir of the deceased Deewan. Mool 

* Major Broadfoot to Govern- weakness in the hills,” where he 
ment, 5th May, 1845. should have been strongest, had his 

f Major Broadfoot to Govern- followers been brave and trusty, 
ment, 24th May, 1845. (Major Broadfoot to Government, 

t Major Broadfoot to Govern- 5th May, 1845.) 
ment, 14th July, 1845. |j Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- 

§ Major Broadfoot confessed that vernment, 10th Oct. 1844. 

“ late events had shown the raja’s 


Chap. VIII.] REBELLION OF PESIIAWURA SINGH. 


277 


Raj put his brother in prison, and thus freed himself 
from all local dangers ; but he had steadily evaded the 
detnands of the Lahore court for an increased farm or 
contract, and he had likewise objected to the large 
“ Nuzzerana,” or relief, which was required as the 
usual condition of succession. As soon, therefore, as 
Golab Singh had been reduced to obedience, it was pro¬ 
posed to dispatch a force against Mooltan, and the 
“Khalsa” approved of the measure through the as¬ 
sembled Punchayets of regiments and brigades. This 
resolution induced the new governor to yield, and in Sep¬ 
tember (1845) it was arranged that he should pay a fine 
of 1,800,000 rupees. He escaped an addition to his 
contract sum, but he was deprived of some petty districts 
to satisfy in a measure the letter of the original demand.* 
The proceedings of Peshawura Singh caused more 
disquietude to the new vuzeer personally than the hos¬ 
tility of Golab Singh, or the resistance of the Governor 
of Mooltan. The prince was vain and of slender ca¬ 
pacity, but his relationship to Runjeet Singh gave him 
some hold upon the minds of the Sikhs. He was en ¬ 
couraged by Golab Singh then safe in the hills, and he 
was assured of support by the brigade of troops which 
had made Jowahir Singh a prisoner, when that chief 
threatened to fly with the Muharaja into the British 
territories. Jowahir Singh had not heeded the value to 
the state of the prudence of the soldiers in restraining 
him ; he thought only of the personal indignity, and 
soon after his accession to power he barbarously muti¬ 
lated the commander of the offending division, by de¬ 
priving him of his nose and ears. Peshawura Singh 
felt himself countenanced, and he endeavored to rally 


1845. 


and agrees 
to the 
terms of 
the Lahore 
court, 1845. 


The rebel¬ 
lion of 
Peshawura 
Singh ; 


March, 
1845 ; 


* In this paragraph the author 
has followed mainly his own notes of 
occurrences. The mutiny of the 
Mooltan troops took place in Nov. 
1844. The Governor at once sur¬ 
rounded them, and demanded the 
ringleaders, and on their surrender 
being refused, he opened a fire upon 


their whole body, and killed, as was 
said, nearly 400 of them. Deewan 
Mool Raj seized and confined his 
brother in Aug. 1845, and in the 
following month the terms of his 
succession were settled with the La¬ 
hore court. 


278 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 


1845. a party around him at Seealkot, which he held in fief. 
1 Y ' But the Sikhs were not disposed to thus suddenly ad¬ 
mit his pretensions ; he was reduced to straits ; and in 
the month of June he fled, and lived at large on the 
country, until towards the end of July, when he sur¬ 
prised the fort of Attok, proclaimed himself Muharaja, 
and entered into a correspondence with Dost Mahomed 
Khan. Sirdar Chutter Singh of Attaree was sent 
against the pretender, and troops were moved from 
Dera Ismaeel Khan to aid in reducing him. The 
prince was beleaguered in his fort, and became aware 
who sub- of his insignificance ; he submitted on the 30th August, 
mits, but is anc [ was directed to be removed to Lahore, but he was 
Aug. — ’ secretly put to death at the instigation of Jowahir Singh, 
Sept. 1845. and through the instrumentality, as understood, of 
Futteh Khan Towana, who sought by rendering an 
important service to further ingratiate himself with 
that master for the time being who had restored him 
to favor, and who had appointed him to the manage¬ 
ment of the upper Derajat of the Indus.* 

The Sikh This last triumph was fatal to Jowahir Singh, and 
pieaseZmd" aT1 £ er was a dded to the contempt in which he had 
distrustful, always been held. He had sometimes displayed both 
energy and perseverance, but his vigor was the impulse 
of personal resentment, and it was never characterized 
by judgment or by superior intelligence. His original 
design of flying to the English had displeased the Sikhs, 
and rendered them suspicious of his good faith as a 
member of the Khalsa; and no sooner had his revenge 
been gratified by the expulsion of Heera Singh and 
Pundit Julia, than he found himself the mere sport and 
plaything of the army, which had only united with him 
for the attainment of a common object. The soldiery 
began to talk of themselves as pre-eminently the “Punt’h 
Khalsajee,” or congregation of believers t; and Jowahir 

* Compare Major Broadfoot to title, which the soldiers arrogated to 
Government, 14th and 26th July themselves, was new in correspond- 
and 8th and 18th Sept. 1845. ence ; but Government pointed out, 

t Or, as the “ Surbut Khalsa,” the in reply, that it was an old term ac- 
body of the elect. Major Broadfoot cording to the Calcutta records, 
(letter of 2d Feb. 1845) thought this 


Chap. VIII.] 


DEATH OF JOWAHIR SINGH. 


279 


Singh was overawed by the spirit which animated the 1845. 
armed host. In the midst of the successes against ,^7^er * 
Jummoo, he trembled for his fate, and he twice laid piexity of 
plans for escaping to the south of the Sutlej ; but the g^ hir 
troops were jealous of such a step on the part of their 
nominal master. He felt that he was watched, and he 
abandoned the hope of escape to seek relief in dissi¬ 
pation, in the levy of Mahometan regiments, and in idle 
or desperate threats of war with his British allies.* 

Jowahir Singh was thus despised and distrusted by the 
Sikhs themselves ; their enmity to him was fomented 
by Lai Singh, who aimed at the post of vuzeer ; and the 
murder of Peshawura Singh added to the general ex¬ 
asperation, for the act was condemned as insulting to 
the people, and it was held up to reprobation by the 
chiefs as one which would compromise their own safety, 
if allowed to pass with impunitv.t The Punchavets of The arm y 

i a j j condemns 

regiments met in council, and they resolved that Jowahir liim and 
Singh should die as a traitor to the commonwealth, for ^th^sept 
death is almost the only mode by which tumultuous, 21 . 1845 . 
half-barbarous governments can remove an obnoxious 
minister. He was accordingly required to appear on 
the 21st September before the assembled Khalsa to 
answer for his misdeeds. He went, seated upon an 
elephant; but fearing his fate, he took with him the 
young Muharaja and a quantity of gold and jewels. 

On his arrival in front of the troops, he endeavored to 
gain over some influential deputies and officers by 
present donatives and by lavish promises, but he was 
sternly desired to let the Muharaja be removed from his 
side, and to be himself silent. The boy was placed in 
a tent near at hand, and a party of soldiers advanced 
and put the vuzeer to death by a discharge of mus¬ 
ketry.! Two other persons, the sycophants of the 

* Compare Major Broadfoot to t Compare Major Broadfoot to 
Government, 23d and 28th Feb., 5th Government, 26th Sept. 1845. It 
April (a demi-official letter), and may be added that the Sikhs gene- 
15th and 18th Sept. 1845. rally regarded Jowahir Singh as one 

f Compare Major Broadfoot to ready to bring in the English, and as 
Government, 22d Sept. 1845. faithless to the Khalsa. 


280 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. VIII. 


1845. 


The army 
all-power¬ 
ful. 


Lai Singh 
made vu- 
zeer, and 
Tej Singh 
comman- 
der-in- 
chief, in 
expectation 
of an En¬ 
glish war. 


minister, were killed at the same time, but no pillage or 
massacre occurred; the act partook of the solemnity 
and moderation of a judicial process, ordained and wit¬ 
nessed by a whole people ; and the body of Jowahir 
Singh was allowed to be removed and burnt with the 
dreadful honors of the Suttee sacrifice, among the 
last, perhaps, which will take place in India. 

For some time after the death of Jowahir Singh, no 
one seemed willing to become the supreme adminis¬ 
trative authority in the state, or to place himself at the 
head of that self-dependent army, which in a few 
months had led captive the formidable chief of Jumraoo, 
reduced to submission the powerful governor of Mool- 
tan, put down the rebellion of one recognized as the 
brother of the Muharaja, and pronounced and executed 
judgment on the highest functionary in the kingdom, 
and which had also without effort contrived to keep the 
famed Afghans in check at Peshawur and along the 
frontier. Raja Golab Singh was urged to repair to the 
capital, but he and all others were overawed, and the 
Ranee Jindan held herself for a time a regular court, 
in the absence of a vuzeer. The army was partly 
satisfied with this arrangement, for the committees con¬ 
sidered that they could keep the provinces obedient, and 
they reposed confidence in the talents or the integrity of 
the accountant Deenanath, of the paymaster Bhuggut 
Ram, and of Noorooddeen, almost as familiar as his old 
and infirm brother Uzeezooddeen with the particulars 
of the treaties and engagements with the English. The 
army had formerly required that these three men should 
he consulted by Jowahir Singh ; but the advantage of a 
responsible head was, nevertheless, apparent, and as the 
soldiers were by degrees wrought upon to wage war 
with their European neighbors, Rajah Lai Singh was 
nominated vuzeer, and Sirdar Tej Singh was recon¬ 
firmed in his office of commander-in-chief. These ap¬ 
pointments were made early in November, 1845.* 

* In this paragraph the author has followed mainly his own notes of 
occurrences. 


281 


CHAPTER IX. 

THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 

1845—1846. 

Causes leading to a war between the Sikhs and English .— 

The English , being apprehensive of frontier disturbances, 
adopt defensive measures on a scale opposed to the spirit 
of the policy of 1809. — The Sikhs, being prone to sus¬ 
picion, consider themselves in danger of invasion. — And 
are further moved by their want of confidence in the 
English representative. — The Sikhs resolve to anticipate 
the English, and wage war by crossing the Sutlej. — 

The tactics of the Sikhs. — The views of the Sikh 
leaders. — Feerozpoor purposely spared. — The battle 
of Moodkee. — The battle of P'heerooshuhur, and re¬ 
treat of the Sikhs. — The effect of these barren victories 
upon the Indians and the English themselves. — The Sikhs 
again cross the Sutlej. — The skirmish of Buddowal. — 

The battle of Aleewal. — Negotiations through Raja 
Golab Singh .— The battle of Subraon .— The sub¬ 
mission of the Sikh Chiefs, and the occupation of 
Lahore. — The partition of the Punjab. — The treaty 
with Dhuleep Singh. — The treaty with Golab Singh. — 
Conclusion, relative to the position of the English in 
India. 

The English government had long expected that it 1845,1846. 

would be forced into a war with the overbearing v - Y -' 

soldiery of the Punjab : the Indian public, which con- 
sidered only the fact of the progressive aggrandizement pared for a 
of the strangers, was prepared to hear of the annexation 
of another kingdom without minutely inquiring or and En- 
caring about the causes which led to it; and the more glish * 
selfish chiefs of the Sikhs had always desired that such 
a degree of interference should be exercised in the 
affairs of their country as would guarantee to them 
*t5 


282 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. 


The appre¬ 
hensions of 
the English. 


The fears of 
the Sikhs. 


the easy enjoyment of their possessions. These wealthy 
and incapable men stood rebuked before the superior 
genius of Runjeet Singh, and before the mysterious 
spirit which animated the people arrayed in arms, and 
they thus fondly hoped that a change would give them 
all they could desire ; but it is doubtful whether the 
Sikh soldiery ever seriously thought, although they 
often vauntingly boasted, of fighting with the para¬ 
mount power of Hindostan, until within two or three 
months of the first battles, and even then the rude and 
illiterate yeomen considered that they were about to 
enter upon a war purely defensive, although one in 
every way congenial to their feelings of youthful pride 
and national jealousy. 

From the moment the Sikh army became predo¬ 
minant in the state, the English authorities had been 
persuaded that the machinery of government would be 
broken up, that bands of plunderers would everywhere 
arise, and that the duty of a civilized people to society 
generally, and of a governing power to its own subjects, 
would all combine to bring on a collision ; and thus 
measures which seemed sufficient were adopted for 
strengthening the frontier posts, and for having a force 
at hand which might prevent aggression, or which 
would at least exact retribution and vindicate the su¬ 
premacy of the English name.* These were the fair 
and moderate objects of the British government; but 
the Sikhs took a different view of the relative con¬ 
ditions of the two states ; they feared the ambition of 
their great and growing neighbor, they did not under¬ 
stand why they should be dreaded when intestine com¬ 
motions had reduced their comparative inferiority still 
lower ; or why inefficiency of rule should be construed 
into hostility of purpose ; defensive measures took in 
their eyes the form of aggressive preparations, and they 

* Compare Minute by the Go- the Secret Committee, 1st October, 
vernor-General, of the 16th June, 1845. (Parliamentary Paper, 1846.) 
1845, and the Governor-General to 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


283 


came to the conclusion that their country was to be in- 1845,1846. 
vaded. Nor does this conviction of the weaker and ' 

less intelligent power appear to be strange or unrea¬ 
sonable, although erroneous — for it is always to be 
borne in mind that India is far behind Europe in civili¬ 
zation, and that political morality or moderation is as 
little appreciated in the East in these days as it was in 
Christendom in the middle ages. Hindostan, more¬ 
over, from Caubul to the valley of Assam and the island 
of Ceylon, is regarded as one country, and dominion in 
it is associated in the minds of the people with the pre¬ 
dominance of one monarch or of one race. The su¬ 
premacy of Vicrumajeet and Chundragoopta, of the 
Toorkmuns and Moghuls, is familiar to all, and thus 
on hearing of further acquisitions by the English, a 
Hindoo or Mahometan will simply observe that the des¬ 
tiny of the nation is great, or that its cannon is irre¬ 
sistible. A prince may chafe that he looses a province 
or is rendered tributary ; but the public will never 
accuse the conquerors of unjust aggression, or at least 
of unrighteous and unprincipled ambition. 

To this general persuasion of the Sikhs, in common TheEn- 
with other Indian nations, that the English were and s listl ad * 
are ever ready to extend their power, is to be added bodies of 
the particular bearing of the British Government tro °P s to- 
towards the Punjab itself. In 1809, when the appre- sutiej con- 
hensions of a French invasion of the East had subsided, tral 7 t0 . 
when the resolution of making the Jumna a boundary oU 809 hCy 
was still approved, and when the policy of forming the 
province of Sirhind into a neutral or separating tract 
between two dissimilar powers had been wisely adopted, 
the English viceroy had said that rather than irritate 
Runjeet Singh, the detachment of troops which had 
been advanced to Loodiana might be withdrawn to 
Kurnal. # It was not indeed thought advisable to carry 
out the proposition; but up to the period of the Afghan 


* Government to Sir David Ochterloney, 30th January, 1809. 


284 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. I 


1845,1846. war 0 f 1838, the garrison of Loodiana formed the only 
v * ' body of armed men near the Sikh frontier, excepting 

the provincial regiment raised at Subathoo for the police 
of the hills after the Goorkha war. The advanced post 
on the Sutlej was of little military or political use; but 
it served as the most conspicuous symbol of the com¬ 
pact with the Sikhs ; and they, as the inferior power, 
were always disposed to lean upon old engagements as 
those which warranted the least degree of intimacy or 
dictation. In 1835 the petty chiefship of Feerozpoor, 
seventy miles lower down the Sutlej than Loodiana, 
was occupied by the English as an escheat due to their 
protection of all Sikh lordships save that of Lahore. 
The advantages of the place in a military point of view 
had been perseveringly extolled, and its proximity to 
the capital of the Punjab made Runjeet Singh, in his 
prophetic fear, claim it as a dependency of his own.* 
In 1838 the Muharaja’s apprehensions that the insig¬ 
nificant town would become a cantonment were fully 
realized; for twelve thousand men assembled at Fee¬ 
rozpoor to march to Khorassan ; and as it was learnt, 
before the date fixed for the departure of the army, that 
the Persians had raised the siege of Heerat, it was de¬ 
termined that a small divison should be left behind, 
until the success of the projected invasion rendered its 
presence no longer necessary.t But the succeeding 
warfare in Afghanistan and Sindh gave the new can¬ 
tonment a character of permanency, and in 1842 the 
remoteness from support of the two posts on the Sutlej 
was one of the arguments used for advancing a con¬ 
siderable body of troops to Ambala as a reserve, and 
for placing European regiments in the hills still closer 
to the Sikh frontier, t The relations of 1809 were 

* See Chap. VII., and also note f), Shooja would be seated on his throne, 
p. 188. and the British army withdrawn, all 

t This was the understanding at within a twelvemonth, 
the time, but no document appears to t The author cannot refer to any 
have been drawn up to that effect. written record of these reasons, but 
It was indeed expected that Shah he knows that they were used. When 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


285 


nevertheless cherished by the Sikhs, although they may 1845 , 1846 . 
have been little heeded by the English amid the multi- v v ; 
farious considerations attendant on their changed posi¬ 
tion in India, and who, assured of the rectitude of their 
intentions, persuaded of the general advantage of their 
measures, and conscious of their overwhelming power, 
are naturally prone to disregard the less obvious feelings 
of their dependants, and to be careless of the light in 
which their acts may be viewed by those whose aims 
and apprehensions are totally different from their own. 

It had never been concealed from the Sikh authori- The En- 
ties, that the helpless condition of the acknowledged aboutTel- 
government of the country was held to justify such hawur, and 
additions to the troops at Loodiana and Feerozpoor, as ^support 
would give confidence to the inhabitants of these dis- sher Singh, 
tricts, and ensure the successful defence of the posts the* 
themselves against predatory bands.* Nor did the Sikhs. 
Sikhs deny the abstract right of the English to make 
what military arrangements they pleased for the security 
of their proper territories: but that any danger was to 
be apprehended from Lahore was not admitted by men 
conscious of their weakness; and thus by every process 
of reasoning employed, the Sikhs still came to the same 
conclusion that they were threatened. Many circum¬ 
stances, unheeded or undervalued by the English, gave 
further strength to this conviction. It bad not indeed been 
made known to the Sikhs that Sir William Macnaghten 
and others had proposed to dismember their kingdom 
by bestowing Peshawur on Shah Shooja, when Runjeet 
Singh’s line was held to end with the death of his 

the step in advance was resolved the Sikhs of Pulteeala, to whom Sir- 
on, it is only to be regretted that hind belonged; although the more 
the cantonment was not formed at important and less defensible step of 
Sirhind, the advantages of which as a alarming the Sikhs of Lahore had 
military post with reference to the been taken without heed or hesita- 
Punjab, as being central to all the tion. 

principal passages of the Sutlej, Sir * Compare the Governor-General 
David Ochterloney had long before to the Secret Committee, 2d Decern - 
pointed out. (Sir D. Ochterloney to ber 1845. (Pari. Papers , 1846.); and 
Government, 3d May, 1810.) Some also his despatch of the 31st Decem- 
delicacy, however, was felt towards ber, 1845. (Pari. Papers, p. 28.). 


286 


HISTOKY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. grandson; but it would be idle to suppose the Lahore 
v government ignorant of a scheme which was discussed in 

official correspondence, and doubtless in private society, 
or of the previous desire of Sir Alexander Burnes to 
bestow the same tract on Dost Mahommed Khan, which 
was equally a topic of conversation ; and the Sikh 
authorities must at least have had a lively remembrance 
of the English offer of 1843, to march upon their 
capital, and to disperse their army. Again, in 1844 
and 1845, the facts were whispered abroad and treasured 
up, that the English were preparing boats at Bombay to 
make bridges across the Sutlej, that troops in Sindh 
were being equipped for a march on Mooltan*, and that 
the various garrisons of the north-west provinces were 
being gradually reinforced, while some of them were 
being abundantly supplied with the munitions of war as 
well as with troops.t None of these things were com¬ 
municated to the Sikh government, but they were never¬ 
theless believed by all parties, and they were held to 
denote a campaign, not of defence, but of aggression.t 


* The collection of ordnance and 
ammunition at Sukkur for the equip¬ 
ment of a force of five thousand men, 
to march towards Mooltan, was a sub¬ 
ject of ordinary official correspondence 
in 1844-5, as, for instance, between 
the Military Board in Calcutta and 
the officers of departments under its 
control. [Sir Charles Napier assures 
the author that he, although Gover¬ 
nor, had no cognizance of the cor¬ 
respondence in question, and made 
no preparations for equipping a force 
for service. Of the fact of the cor¬ 
respondence the author has no doubt; 
but the expression “ collection of the 
means,” used in the first edition, can 
be held to imply too much, and the 
meaning is now correctly restored to 
“ ordnance and ammunition.” The 
object of the Supreme Government 
was not to march on Mooltan at that 
time, but to be prepared, at least in 
part, for future hostilities.] 

f The details of the preparations 
made by Lords Ellenborough and 


Hardinge may be seen in an article 
on the administration of the latter no¬ 
bleman, in the Calcutta Review , which 
is understood to be the production of 
Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence. 

Up to 1838, the troops on the fron¬ 
tier amounted to one regiment at Su- 
bathoo, and two at Loodiana, with six 
pieces of artillery, equalling in all little 
more than 2500 men. Lord Auckland 
made the total about 8000, by in¬ 
creasing Loodiana and creating Fee- 
rozpoor. Lord Ellenborough formed 
further new stations at Ambala, Kus- 
sowlee, and Simlagh, and placed in all 
about 14,000 men and 48 field guns 
on the frontier. Lord Hardinge in¬ 
creased the aggregate force to about 
32,000 men, with 68 field guns, be¬ 
sides having 10,000 men with artil¬ 
lery at Meerut. After 1843, however, 
the station ofKurnal, on the Jumna, 
was abandoned, which in 1838 and 
preceding years may have mustered 
about 4000 men. 

| Compare the Governor-General 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


287 


The Sikhs thus considered that the fixed policy of 
the English was territorial aggrandizement, and that 
the immediate object of their ambition was the conquest 
of Lahore. This persuasion of the people was brought 
home to them by the acts of the British representative 
for the time, and by the opinion which they had pre¬ 
formed of his views. Mr. Clerk became Lieutenant- 
Governor of Agra in June 1843, and he was succeeded 
as agent for the affairs of the Sikhs by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Richmond, whose place again was taken by 
Major Broadfoot, a man of undoubted energy and 
ability, in November of the following year. In India 
the views of the British Government are, by custom, 
made known to allies and dependants through one chan¬ 
nel only, namely, that of an accredited English officer. 
The personal character of such a functionary gives a 
color to all he does and says; the policy of the go¬ 
vernment is indeed judged of by the bearing of its 
representative, and it is certain that the Sikh authorities 
did not derive any assurance of an increasing desire for 
peace, from the nomination of an officer who, thirty 
months before, had made so stormy a passage through 
their country.* 

One of Major Broadfoot’s t first acts was to declare 
the Cis-Sutlej possessions of Lahore to be under British 
protection equally with Putteeala and other chiefships, 
and also to be liable to escheat on the death or deposi¬ 
tion of Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, t This view was not 


to the Secret Committee, December 
2. 1845. 

* Sir Claude Wade, in his Narra¬ 
tive of Services (p. 19. note), well ob¬ 
serves it to be essential to the preser¬ 
vation of the English system of alli¬ 
ances in India, that political repre¬ 
sentatives should be regarded as 
friends by the chiefs with whom they 
reside, rather than as the mere in¬ 
struments of conveying the orders or 
of enforcing the policy of foreign 
masters. 


f See p. 244. with regard to Ma¬ 
jor Broadfoot’s passage of the Punjab 
in 1841. 

| Major Broadfoot’s Letters to Go¬ 
vernment, of the 7th December, 1844, 
30th January, and 28th February, 
1845, may be referred to as explana¬ 
tory of his views. In the last letter he 
distinctly says that if the young Mu¬ 
haraja Dhuleep Singh, who was then 
ill of the small-pox, should die, he 
would direct the reports regarding 
the Cis-Sutlej districts to be made to 


1845,1846. 


The Sikhs 
further 
moved by 
their esti¬ 
mate of the 
British 
agent of 
the day. 


Major 
Broadfoot’s 
views and 
overt acts 
equally dis¬ 
pleasing to 
the Sikhs. 



288 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. formally announced to the Sikh government, but it was 
’ Y ' notorious, and Major Broadfoot acted on it when he 
proceeded to interfere authoritatively, and by a dis¬ 
play of force, in the affairs of the priest-like Sodhees 
of Anundpoor Makhowal, a fief to which some years 
before it had been declared to be expedient to waive 
all claim, especially as Runjeet Singh could best deal 
with the privileged proprietors.* Again, a troop of 
horse had crossed the Sutlej near Feerozpoor, to 
proceed to Kotkupoora, a Lahore town, to relieve or 
strengthen the mounted police ordinarily stationed there; 
hut the party had crossed without the previous sanction 
of the British agent having been obtained, agreeably to 
an understanding between the two governments, based 
on an article of the treaty of 1809, but which modified 
' arrangement was scarcely applicable to so small a body 
of men proceeding for such a purpose. Major Broad¬ 
foot nevertheless required the horsemen to recross; and 
as he considered them dilatory in their obedience, he 
followed them with his escort, and overtook them as 
they were about to ford the river. A shot was fired by 
the English party, and the extreme desire of the Sikh 
commandant to avoid doing any thing which might be 
held to compromise his government, alone prevented a 
collision.! Further, the bridge-boats which had been 
prepared at Bombay were despatched towards Feeroz- 


himself (through the Lahore vukeel 
or agent indeed), and not to any one 
in the Punjab. 

* With regard to Anundpoor, see 
Chap. VII., with note §, p. 196. 
About the particular dispute noticed 
in the text, Major Broadfoot’s letter 
to Government of the 13th September, 
1 845, may be referred to. It labors 
in a halting way to justify his pro¬ 
ceedings and his assumption of juris¬ 
diction under ordinary circumstances. 

f Compare Major Broadfoot to 
Government, 27th March, 1845. It 
is understood that the Government 
disaporoved of these proceedings. 


[The Calcutta Review for June, 
1849, (p. 547.) states that the Gover¬ 
nor-General did not, as represented, 
disapprove, but, on the contrary, en¬ 
tirely approved, of Major Broadfoot’s 
proceedings in this matter. The Re¬ 
viewer writes like one possessed of 
official knowledge, but I am never¬ 
theless unwilling to believe that the 
Governor-General could have been 
pleased with the violent and unbe¬ 
coming act of his agent, although his 
lordship may have desired to see the 
irregular conduct of the Sikhs firmly 
checked.] 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


289 


poor in the autumn of 1845, and Major Broadfoot 
almost avowed that hostilities had broken out when he 
manifested an apprehensiou of danger to these armed 
vessels, by ordering strong guards of soldiers to escort 
them safely to their destination, and when he began to 
exercise their crews in the formation of bridges after 
their arrival at Feerozpoor.* 

The views held by Major Broadfoot, and virtually 
adopted by the supreme government, with respect to 
the Cis-Sutlej districts, and also the measures followed 
in particular instances, may all be defended to a cer¬ 
tain extent, as they indeed were, on specious grounds, 
as on the vague declarations of Sir David Ochterloney 
or on the deferential injunctions of Runjeet Singh.t It 


* A detachment of troops under a 
European officer was required to be 
sent with each batch of boats, owing 
to the state of the Punjab. Never¬ 
theless small iron steamers were al¬ 
lowed to navigate the Sutlej at the 
time without guards, and one lay 
under the guns of Filor for several 
days, without meeting aught except 
civility on the part of the Sikhs. 

I Major Broadfoot is understood to 
have quoted to the Sikhs, a letter of 
Sir David Ochterloney’s, dated the 
7th May, 1809, to Mokum Chund, 
Runjeet Singh’s representative, to the 
effect that the Cis-Sutlej Lahore 
states were equally under British 
protection with other states ; and also 
an order of April, 1824, from Run¬ 
jeet Singh, requiring his authorities 
south of the Sutlej to obey the Eng¬ 
lish agent, on pain of having their 
noses slit. It is not improbable that 
Sir David Ochterloney may at the 
early date quoted, have so understood 
the nature of the British connection 
with reference to some particular 
case then before him, but that the 
Cis-Sutlej states of Lahore were held 
under feudal obligations to the Eng¬ 
lish seems scarcely tenable, for the 
following reasons:—1. The protec¬ 
tion extended by the English to the 
chiefs of Sirhind was declared to mean 
protection to them against Rungeet 


Singh, and therefore not protection of 
the whole country between the Sutlej 
and Jumna, a portion of which be¬ 
longed to Lahore. (See the Treaty of 
1809, and Article I. of the declara¬ 
tion of the 3d May, 1809 ; and also 
Government to Sir D. Ochterloney, 
10th April, 1809.) Further, when 
convenient, the British government 
could even maintain, that although 
the treaty of 1809 was binding on 
Runjeet Singh, with reference to Cis- 
Sutlej states, it was not binding on 
the English, whom it simply author¬ 
ised to interfere at their discretion. 
(Government to Captain Wade, 23d 
April, 1833.) This was indeed writ¬ 
ten with reference to Buhawulpoor, 
but the application was made general. 
2. The protection, accorded to the 
chiefs of Sirhind, was afterwards ex¬ 
tended so as to give them security in 
the plains, but not in the hills, against 
the Goorkhasas well as against Run¬ 
jeet Singh (Government to Sir D. 
Ochterloney, 23d January, 1810); 
while with regard to Runjeet Singh’s 
own Cis-Sutlej possessions, it was de¬ 
clared that he himself must defend 
them(againstNepal), leaving it a ques¬ 
tion of policy as to whether he should 
or should not be aided in their defence. 
It was further added, that he might 
march through his Cis-Sutlej districts, 
to enable him to attack the Goorkhas 


1845,1846. 


Major 
Broad foot’s 
proceedings 
held to 
virtually 
denote war. 



290 

1845,1846. 

-v-' 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 

is even believed that if the cession of the tracts in ques¬ 
tion had been desired, their relinquishment might have 
been effected without a resort to arms; but every act 
of Major Broadfoot was considered to denote a foregone 
resolution, and to he conceived in a spirit of enmity 
rather than of good will.* Nor did the Sikhs seem to 


in the hills near the Jumna, in defence 
of the districts in question, should he 
so wish. (Government to Sir David 
Ochterloney, 4th October, and 22d 
November, 1811.) [The opinion of 
Sir Charles Metcalfe about the pro¬ 
ceedings of the English with regard 
to Whudnee (see antd, note p. 163.) 
may also be quoted as bearing on 
the case in a way adverse to Major 
Broadfoot.] 

* It was generally held by the 
English in India that Major Broad- 
foot’s appointment greatly increased 
the probabilities of a war with the 
Sikhs; and the impression was equally 
strong, that had Mr. Clerk, for in¬ 
stance, remained as agent, there 
would have been no war. [Had Mr. 
Clerk again, or Colonel Wade, been 
the British representative in 1845, 
either would have gone to Lahore in 
person, and would have remonstrated 
against the selfish and unscrupulous 
proceedings of the managers of affairs 
as obviously tending to bring on a 
rupture. They would also have taken 
measures to show to the troops that 
the British government would not be 
aggressors ; they would have told the 
chiefs that a war would compromise 
them with the English, nor would 
they have come away until every per¬ 
sonal risk had been run, and every 
exertion used to avert a resort to 
arms.] That Major Broadfoot was 
regarded as hostile to the Sikhs, may 
perhaps almost he gathered from his 
own letters. On the 19th March, 
1845, he wrote that the governor of 
Mooltan had asked what course he, 
the governor, should pursue, if the 
Lahore troops marched against him, 
to enforce obedience to demands 
made. The question does not seem 
one which a recusant servant would 
put under ordinary circumstances to 


the preserver of friendship between 
his master and the English. Major 
Broadfoot, however, would appear to 
have recurred to the virtual overtures 
of Deewan Mool Raj, for on the 20th 
November, 1845, when he wrote to 
all authorities in any way connected 
with the Punjab, that the British 
provinces were threatened with in¬ 
vasion, he told the Major-General at 
Sukkur, that the governor of Mool¬ 
tan would defend Sindh with his pro¬ 
vincials against the Sikhs ! — thus 
leading to the belief that he had suc¬ 
ceeded in detaching the governor from 
his allegiance to Lahore. [When this 
note was originally written, the au¬ 
thor thought that Major Broadfoot’s 
warning in question had been ad¬ 
dressed to Sir Charles Napier him¬ 
self, but he has subsequently ascer¬ 
tained that the letter was sent to his 
Excellency’s deputy in the upper 
portion of the country, and that Sir 
Charles Napier has no recollection of 
receiving a similar communication.] 

[Some allusion may also be made to 
a falsified speech of Sir Charles Na¬ 
pier’s, which ran the round of the 
papers at the time, about the British 
army being called on to move into 
the Punjab, especially as Major 
Broadfoot considered the Sikh lead¬ 
ers to be moved in a greater degree 
by the Indian newspapers than is im¬ 
plied in a passing attention to reite¬ 
rated paragraphs about invasion. He 
thought, for instance, that Pundit 
Julia understood the extent to which 
Government deferred to public opi¬ 
nion, and that the Brahmin himself 
designed to make use of the press as 
an instrument. (Major Broadfoot to 
Government, 30th January, 1845.) 

In the first edition of this history 
the speech of Sir Charles Napier was 
referred to as if it had really been 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


291 


be menaced by their allies on one side only. In the 
summer of 1845 some horsemen from Mooltan crossed 
a few miles into the Sindh territory in pursuit of certain 
marauders, and in seizing- them, the Lahore soldiers were 
reported to have used needless violence, and perhaps to 
have committed other excesses. Nevertheless, the object 
of the troopers was evident; and the boundary of the 
two provinces between the Indus and the hills is no 
where defined, but the governor, Sir Charles Napier, 
immediately ordered the wing of a regiment to 
Kushmor, a few miles below Rojhan, to preserve the 
integrity of his frontier from violation. The Lahore 
authorities were thus indeed put upon their guard, but 
the motives of Sir Charles Napier were not appreciated, 
and the prompt measures of the conqueror of Sindh 
were mistakenly looked upon as one more proof of a 
desire to bring about a war with the Punjab. 

The Sikh army, and the population generally, were 
convinced that war was inevitable ; but the better in¬ 
formed members of the government knew that no inter¬ 
ference was likely to be exercised without an overt act 
of hostility on their part.* When moved as much by 
jealousy of one another as by a common dread of the 
army, the chiefs of the Punjab had clung to wealth and 
ease rather than to honor and independence, and thus 
Muharaja Sher Singh, the Sindhanwalas, and others, 


made in the terms reported, but the 
author has now learnt from his Ex¬ 
cellency that nothing whatever was 
said about leading troops into the 
Punjab, or about engaging in war 
with the Sikhs. The author has like¬ 
wise ascertained from Sir Charles 
Napier, that the mention made in the 
first edition about a proposal to sta¬ 
tion a considerable force at Kushmor, 
having been disapproved by the Su¬ 
preme Government, is incorrect, and 
he offers his apologies to the distin¬ 
guished leader misrepresented for 
giving original or additional currency 
to the errors in question.] 

* Compare Inclosure, No. 6. of the 


Governor-General’s Letter to the 
Secret Committee of the 2d Decem¬ 
ber, 1845. ( Pari. Papers, Feb. 26. 

1846, p. 21.) Major Broadfoot, how¬ 
ever, states of Golab Singh, what was 
doubtless true of many others, viz. 
that he believed the English had de¬ 
signs on the Punjab. (Major Broad¬ 
foot to Government, 5th May, 1845.) 
[It is indeed notorious that Sikhs and 
Afghans commonly said the English 
abandoned Caubul because they did 
not hold Lahore, and that having once 
established themselves in the Punjab, 
they would soon set about the regu¬ 
lar reduction of Khorassan. ] 


1845,1846. 


Sir Charles 
Napier’s 
acts con¬ 
sidered 
further 
proof of 
hostile 
views. 


The Lahore 
chiefs make 
use of the 
persuasion 
of the 
people for 
their own 
ends, 



292 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. h a( l been ready to become tributary, and to lean for 

v -*-' support upon foreigners. As the authority of the army 

began to predominate, and to derive force from its 
system of committees, a new danger threatened the ter¬ 
ritorial chiefs and the adventurers in the employ of the 
government. They might successively fall before the 
cupidity of the organized body which none could control, 
or an able leader might arise who would absorb the 
power of all others, and gratify his followers by the 
sacrifice of the rich, the selfish, and the feeble. Even 
the Raja of Jummoo, always so reasonably averse to a 
close connection with the English, began to despair of 
safety as a feudatory in the hills, or of authority as a 
minister at Lahore without the aid of the British name, 
and Lai Singh, Tej Singh, and many others, all equally 
and urge felt their incapacity to control the troops. These men 

the army considered that their only chance of retaining- power 
against the . . J ° r 

English, in was to have the army removed by inducing it to engage 
Uma^e* * n a contest which they believed would end in its dis- 
destroyed. persion, and pave the way for their recognition as 
ministers more surely than if they did their duty by the 
people, and earnestly deprecated a war which must de-* 
stroy the independence of the Punjab.* Had the shrewd 


* Compare Inclosures to the Go¬ 
vernor-General’s letter to the Secret 
Committee of the 31st December, 
1845. {Pari. Papers , 2 6th Feb. 1846, 
p. 29.) It has not been thought ne¬ 
cessary to refer to the intemperance 
of the desperate Jowahir Singh, or 
to the amours of the Muharanee, 
which in the papers laid before the 
British parliament, have been used 
to heighten the folly and worthless¬ 
ness of the Lahore court. Jowahir 
Singh may have sometimes been seen 
intoxicated, and the Muharanee may 
have attempted little concealment of 
her debaucheries, but decency was 
seldom violated in public; and the 
essential forms of a court were pre¬ 
served to the last, especially when 
strangers were present. The private 
life of princes may be scandalous 


enough, while the moral tone of the 
people is high, and is, moreover, ap¬ 
plauded and upheld by the trans¬ 
gressors themselves, in their capacity 
of magistrates. Hence the domestic 
vices of the powerful have, compara¬ 
tively, little influence on public af¬ 
fairs. Further, the proneness of news¬ 
mongers to enlarge upon such personal 
failings is sufficiently notorious ; and 
the diplomatic service of India has 
been often reproached for dwelling 
pruriently or maliciously on such 
matters. Finally, it is well known 
that the native servants of the En¬ 
glish in Hindostan, who in too many 
instances are hirelings of little educa¬ 
tion or respectability, think they best 
please their employers, or chime in 
with their notions, when they traduce 
all others, and especially those with 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


293 


committees of the armies observed no military prepara¬ 
tions on the part of the English, they would not have 
heeded the insidious exhortations of such mercenary 
men as Lai Singh and Tej Singh, although in former 
days they would have marched uninquiringly towards 
Delhi at the bidding of their great Muharaja. But the 
views of the government functionaries coincided with 
the belief of the impulsive soldiery ; and when the men 
were tauntingly asked whether they would quietly look 
on while the limits of the Khalsa dominion were being 
reduced, and the plains of Lahore occupied by the re¬ 
mote strangers of Europe, they answered that they 
would defend with their lives all belonging to the com¬ 
monwealth of Govind, and that they would march and 
give battle to the invaders on their own ground.* At 
the time in question, or early in November, two Sikh 
villages near Loodiana were placed under sequestration, 
on the plea that criminals concealed in them had not 
been surrendered.t The measure was an unusual one, 
even when the Sikhs and the English were equally at 
their ease with regard to one another; and the circum¬ 
stance, added to the rapid approach of the Governor- 
General to the frontier, removed any doubts which may 
have lingered in the minds of the Punchayets. The men 
would assemble in groups and talk of the great battle 
they must soon wage, and they would meet round the 
tomb of Runjeet Singh and vow fidelity to the Khalsa. t 
Thus wrought upon, war with the English was virtually 


whom there may be a rivalry or a 
collision. So inveterate is the habit 
of flattery, and so strong is the belief 
that Englishmen love to be them¬ 
selves praised and to hear others 
slighted, that even petty local autho¬ 
rities scarcely refer to allied or de¬ 
pendent princes, their neighbors, in 
verbal or in written reports, without 
using some terms of disparagement 
towards them. Hence the scenes of 
debauchery described by the Lahore 
news-writer are partly due to his 
professional character, and partly to 

u 


his belief that he was saying what the 
English wanted to hear. 

* The ordinary private correspon¬ 
dence of the period contained many 
statements of the kind given in the 
text. 

f Major Broadfoot’s official corre¬ 
spondence seems to have ceased after 
the 21st November, 1845; and there 
is no report on this affair among his 
recorded letters. 

J The Lahore news-letters of the 
24th November, 1845, prepared for 
government. 

3 


1845,1846. 

i ^ 



294 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. declared on the 17th November ; a few days afterwards 
g -. kh * the troops began to move in detachments from Lahore ; 
cross the they commenced crossing the Sutlej between Hurreekee 
lithDec an( ^ Kussoor on the 11th December, and on the 14th 

1845 . of that month a portion of the army took up a position 

within a few miles of Feerozpoor. # 

The initiative was thus taken by the Sikhs, who by 
an overt act broke a solemn treaty, and invaded the ter¬ 
ritories of their allies. It is further certain that the 
English people had all along been sincerely desirous of 
living at peace with the Punjab, and to a casual observer 
the aggression of the Sikhs may thus appear as unac¬ 
countable as it was fatal; yet further inquiry will show 
that the policy pursued by the English themselves for 
several years was not in reality well calculated to insure 
a continuance of pacific relations, and that they cannot 
therefore be held wholly blameless for a war which they 
expected and deprecated, and which they knew could 
only tend to their own aggrandizement. The pro¬ 
ceedings of the English, indeed, do not exhibit that 
punctilious adherence to the spirit of first relations which 
allows no change of circumstances to cause a departure 
from arrangements which had, in the progress of time, 
come to be regarded by a weaker power as essentially 
bound up with its independence. Neither do the acts 
of the English seem marked by that high wisdom and 
sure foresight, which should distinguish the career of 
intelligent rulers acquainted with actual life, and the 
examples of history. Treaties of commerce and navi¬ 
gation had been urged upon the Sikhs, notwithstanding 
their dislike to such bonds of unequal union ; they were 
chafed that they had been withheld from Sindh, from 
Afghanistan, and from Tibet, merely, they would argue, 
that these countries might be left open to the ambition 
of the English; and they were rendered suspicious by 
the formation of new military posts on their frontier con- 

* Compare the Governor-General December, 1845, with inclosures, 
to the Secret Committee, 2d and 31st (Pari. Papers, 1846.) 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


295 


trary to prescriptive usage, and for reasons of which 1845,1846. 
they did not perceive the force or admit the validity. v Y ' 
The English looked upon these measures with reference 
to their own schemes of amelioration ; and they did not 
heed the conclusions which the Sikhs might draw from 
them, although such conclusions, how erroneous soever, 
would necessarily become motives of action to a rude 
and warlike race. Thus, at the last, regard was mainly 
had to the chance of predatory inroads, or to the possi¬ 
bility that sovereign and nobles and people, all combined, 
would fatuitously court destruction by assailing their 
gigantic neighbor, and little thought was given to the 
selfish views of factious Sikh chiefs, or to the natural 
effects of the suspicions of the Sikh commonalty when 
wrought upon by base men for their own ends. Thus, 
too, the original agreement which left the province of 
Sirhind free of troops and of British subjects, and which 
provided a confederacy of dependent states to soften the 
mutual action of a half-barbarous military dominion and 
of a humane and civilized government, had been set 
aside by the English for objects which seemed urgent 
and expedient, but which were good in their motive 
rather than wise in their scope. The measure was 
misconstrued by the Sikhs to denote a gradual but settled 
plan of conquest; and hence the subjective mode of 
reasoning employed was not only vicious in logic, but 
being met by arguments even more narrow and one¬ 
sided, became faulty in policy, and, in truth, tended to 
bring about that collision which it was so much desired 
to avoid. 

A corresponding singleness of apprehension also led 
the confident English to persevere in despising or mis¬ 
understanding the spirit of the disciples of Govind. The 
unity and depth of feeling, derived from a young and 
fervid faith, were hardly recognised, and no historical 
associations exalted Sikhs to the dignity of Rajpoots and 
Puthans. 

In 1842 they were held, as has been mentioned, to 


296 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. 


The Eng¬ 
lish unpre¬ 
pared for a 
campaign. 


be unequal to cope with the Afghans, and even to be 
inferior in martial qualities to the population of the 
Jummoo hills.* In 1845 the Lahore soldiery was 
called a “ rabble ” in sober official despatches, and al¬ 
though subsequent descriptions allowed the regiments 
to be composed of the yeomanry of the country, the 
army was still declared to be daily deteriorating as a 
military body.t It is, indeed, certain that English 
officers and Indian Sepoys equally believed they were 
about to win battles by marching steadily and by the 
discharge of a few artillery shots, rather than by skilful 
dispositions, hard fighting, and a prolonged contest.t 
The English not only undervalued their enemy, but 
as has been hinted, they likewise mistook the form which 
the long-expected aggressions of the Sikhs would as¬ 
sume. It was scarcely thought that the ministry, or 
even that the army would have the courage to cross the 
river in force, and to court an equal contest; the 
known treasonable views of the chiefs, and the unity 
and depth of feeling which possessed the troops, were 
not fully appreciated, and it continued to be believed 
that a desultory warfare would sooner or later ensue, 
which would indeed require the British to interfere, but 
which would still enable them to do so at their own 
convenience. Thus boats for bridges, and regiments 


* Sec notes, p. 242 and 253. 

f Major Broadfoot to Government, 
18th and 25th January, 1845. A year 
before, Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence 
(Calcutta Review , No. III. p. 176, 
177.) considered the Sikh army as 
good as that of any other Indian 
power, and not inferior, indeed, to 
the Gwalior troops which fought at 
MuharSjpoor. The Lahore artillery, 
however, he held to be very bad, 
although he was of opinion that in 
position the guns would be well 
served. In his Adventurer in the 
Punjab (p. 47. note k.), he had pre¬ 
viously given a decided preference to 
the Mahratta artillery. 

| Major Smyth is, however, ot 


opinion that the Sepoys in the Bri¬ 
tish service had a high opinion of the 
Sikh troops, although the English 
themselves talked of them as boasters 
and cowards. (Major Smyth’s Reign¬ 
ing Family of Lahore, Introduction , 
xxiv. and xxv.) Compare Dr. Mac- 
gregor, Hist, of the Sikhs, ii. 89, 90. 

§ Compare the Governor-General 
to the Secret Committee, 31st De¬ 
cember, 1845 ( Pari. Papers, 1846), 
and the Calcutta Review, No. XVI. 
p. 475. A few words may here be 
said on a subject which occasioned 
some discussion in India at the time, 
viz. Major Broadfoot’s reputed per¬ 
severing disbelief that the Sikhs 
would cross the Sutlej, although 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


297 


and guns, the natural and undesigned provocatives to a 
war, were sufficiently numerous ; but food and ammu¬ 
nition, and carriage and hospital stores, such as were 
necessary for a campaign, were all behind at Delhi or 
Agra, or still remained to be collected ; for the desire 
of the English was, it is said, peace, and they had hoped 
that an assemblage of troops would prevent predatory 
aggression, or deter the Sikhs from engaging in 
suicidal hostilities.* 

The Governor-General joined the commander-in-chief 
at Ambala early in December, 1845, and as soon as it 
seemed certain that the Sikhs were marching in force 
towards the Sutlej, the English troops in the upper 
provinces were all put in motion. The nearest divisions 


his assistant, Captain Nicolson, sta¬ 
tioned at Freerozpoor, had repeatedly 
said they would. The matter was 
taken up by the Indian public as if 
Captain Nicolson had for several 
months, or for a year and more, held 
that the British provinces would as¬ 
suredly be invaded within a definite 
period; whereas, with regard to 
what the Sikh army might eventually 
do, Captain Nicolson was as uncer¬ 
tain as others, up to within a week 
or so of the passage of the Sutlej in 
December, 1845. The truth seems 
to be, that Major Broadfoot affected 
to disbelieve Captain Nicolson’s re¬ 
port of the actual march and near 
approach of the Lahore army, of its 
encampment on the Sutlej, and of 
its evident resolution to cross the 
river, giving the preference to intel¬ 
ligence of a contrary nature received 
direct from the Sikh capital, and 
which tallied with his own views of 
what the Sikhs would finally do. 
That such was the case, may indeed 
be gathered from the Governor-Ge¬ 
neral’s Despatch to the Secret Com¬ 
mittee of the 31st December, 1845. 
( Pari. Papers, 1846, pp. 26,27.) 

The writer of the article in the 
Calcutta Review, No. XVI. endea¬ 
vours to justify Major Broadfoot’s 
views, by showing that all the officers 
on the frontier held similar opi¬ 


nions. The point really at issue, 
however, is not whether, generally 
speaking, invasion were probable, but 
whether in the beginning of Decem¬ 
ber, 1845, Major Broadfoot should 
not have held that the Sutlej would 
be crossed. The Reviewer forgets to 
add that of the local officers, Major 
Broadfoot alone knew at the time the 
extent of provocation which the Sikhs 
had received ; and that the officers 
wrote with no later news before them 
than that of the 17th of November. 
Hence all, save Major Broadfoot him¬ 
self, had very imperfect means of 
forming a judgment of what was 
likely to take place. With regard to 
what the English should have been 
prepared against, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Richmond’s letter of the 3d April, 
1844, to the address of the Com¬ 
mander-in-Chief may be referred to, 
as in favor of having stations strong 
if they were to be kept up at all. 

* It was a common and a just re¬ 
mark at the time, that although the 
Indian government was fortunate in 
having a practical and approved sol¬ 
dier like Lord Hardinge at its head, 
under the circumstances of a war in 
progress, yet that had Lord Ellen- 
borough remained Governor-General, 
the army would have taken the field 
better equipped than it did. 


1845,1846. 


The Eng¬ 
lish hasten 
to oppose 
the Sikhs. 



298 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. 


The num¬ 
ber of the 
Sikhs. 


Feerozpoor 
threatened 
but pur¬ 
posely not 
attacked. 


were those of Ainbala, Loocliana and Feerozpoor, which 
numbered in all about 17,000 available men, with 69 
field guns ; and as the last-mentioned force was the 
most exposed, the Ambala troops were moved straight 
to its support, and Lord Hardinge further prudently 
resolved to leave Loodiana with a mere garrison for its 
petty fort, and to give Lord Gough as large a force as 
possible, with which to meet the Sikhs, should they 
cross the Sutlej as they threatened.* 

The Lahore army of invasion may have equalled 
35,000 or 40,000 men, with a hundred and fifty 
pieces of artillery, exclusive of a force detached towards 
Loodiana to act as circumstances might render advan¬ 
tageous. The numbers of the Sikhs were under¬ 
stood at the time to greatly exceed those given, but the 
strength of armies is usually exaggerated both by the 
victors and the vanquished ; and there is no satisfactory 
proof that the regular troops of the Sikhs exceeded 
those of the English by more than a half, although 
numerous bodies of undisciplined horse swelled the 
army of the invaders to more than double that of their 
opponents.f 

The Sikh leaders threatened Feerozpoor, but no 
attack was made upon its seven thousand defenders, 
which with a proper spirit were led out by their com- 


* The effective force at Pheeroo- 
shuhur was 17,727 men, according to 
the Calcutta Review (No. XVI. p 
472.), and 16,700 according to Lord 
Hardinge’s Despatch of the 31st 
December, 1845. This was the avail¬ 
able force, out of 32,479 men in all, 
posted from Ambala to the Sutlej. 
[The author has learnt that Lord 
Gough is satisfied the number of the 
enemy at Pheerooshuhur and the 
other battles of the campaign have 
been under-estimated in this narra¬ 
tive. There cannot indeed be any 
statements of decisive authority re¬ 
ferred to, but the settled conviction 
of the Commander-in-Chief is of pri¬ 
mary consideration, and requires to 
be recorded in this new edition; 


especially, as with a characteristic 
singleness of heart, his lordship, in 
noticing the probable error, had re¬ 
gard rather to the reputation of the 
army he led, than to his own fame.] 
f The Governor-General in his 
Despatch of the 31st December, 
1845, estimates the Sikhs at from 
48,000 to 60,000 men ; but with re¬ 
gard to efficient troops, it may be ob¬ 
served that the whole regular army 
of the country did not exceed 42,000 
infantry, including the regiments at 
Lahore, Mooltan, Peshawur, and 
Cashmeer, as well as those forming 
the main army of invasion. Perhaps 
an estimate of 30,000 embodied troops 
of all kinds would be nearer the truth 
than any other. 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


299 


maiider, Sir John Littler, and showed a bold front to 
the overwhelming force of the enemy. The object, 
indeed, of Lai Singh and Tej Singh was not to com¬ 
promise themselves with the English by destroying an 
isolated division, but to get their own troops dispersed 
by the converging forces of their opponents. Their 
desire was to be upheld as the ministers of a dependent 
kingdom by grateful conquerors, and they thus depre¬ 
cated an attack on Feerozpoor, and assured the local 
British authorities of their secret and efficient good-will. 
But these men had also to keep up an appearance of 
devotion to the interests of their country, and they 
urged the necessity of leaving the easy prey of a can¬ 
tonment untouched, until the leaders of the English 
should be attacked, and the fame of the Khalsa exalted 
by the captivity or death of a Governor-General.* The 
Sikh army itself understood the necessity of unity of 
counsel in the affairs of war, and the power of the 
regimental and other committees was temporarily sus¬ 
pended by an agreement with the executive heads of 
the state, which enabled these unworthy men to effect 
their base objects with comparative ease.t Neverthe¬ 
less, in the ordinary military arrangements of occupying 
positions and distributing infantry and cavalry, the 
generals and inferior commanders acted for themselves, 
and all had to pay some respect to the spirit which 
animated the private soldiers in their readiness to do 


* It was sufficiently certain and 
notorious at the time that Lai Singh 
was in communication with Captain 
Nicolson, the British agent at Feeroz¬ 
poor, but owing to the untimely death 
of that officer, the details of the over¬ 
tures made, and expectations held out, 
cannot now be satisfactorily known.— 
Compare Dr. Macgregor’s Bistory of 
the Sikhs, ii. 80. 

[The Calcutta Review for June, 
1849 (p. 549.), while doubting the 
fact, or at least the extent and import¬ 
ance, of Lai Singh’s and Tej Singh’s 
treachery, admits that the former was 
not only in communication with Cap¬ 


tain Nicolson, as stated, but that on 
the 7th February, 1846, he was un¬ 
derstood tohave sent apian ofthe Sikh 
position at Subraon to Colonel Law¬ 
rence, and that on the 19th December, 
1845, the day after the battle of 
Moodkee, Lai Singh’s agent came to 
Major Broadfoot, and was dismissed 
with a rebuke.] 

+ Lai Singh was appointed vuzeer, 
and Tej Singh commander-in-chief of 
the army on or about the 8th No¬ 
vember, 1845,according to the Lahore 
Neivs-Letter of that date, prepared for 
government. 


1845,1846. 


The objects 
of Lai Singh 
and Tej 
Singh. 


The tactics 
ofthe Sikhs. 



300 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. battle for the commonwealth of Govind. The effects 
s v of this enthusiastic unity of purpose in an army, headed 
by men not only ignorant of warfare, but studiously 
treacherous towards their followers, was conspicuously 
visible in the speediness with which numerous heavy 
guns and abundance of grain and ammunition were 
brought across a large river. Every Sikh considered 
the cause as his own, and he would work as a laborer 
as well as carry a musket; he would drag guns, drive 
bullocks, lead camels, and load and unload boats with 
a cheerful alacrity, which contrasted strongly with the 
inapt and sluggish obedience of mere mercenaries, 
drilled, indeed, and fed with skill and care, but un¬ 
warmed by one generous feeling for their country or 
their foreign employers. The youthful Khalsa was 
active and strong of heart, but the soldiers had never 
before met so great a foe, and their tactics were modi¬ 
fied by involuntary awe of the British army, renowned 
in the East for achievements in war. The river had 
been crossed, and the treaty broken ; but the Sikhs 
were startled at their own audacity, and they partially 
intrenched one portion of their forces, while their timor¬ 
ously kept the other as a reserve out of danger’s way. 
Thus the valiant Swedes, when they threw themselves 
into Germany under their king, the great Gustavus, 
revived the castrametation of Roman armies in the pre¬ 
sence of the experienced commanders of Austria* ; and 
thus the young Telemachus, tremulously bold, hurled 
his unaccustomed spear against the princes of Ithaca, 
and sprang for shelter behind the shield of his heroic 
father !t 


* As at Werben, before the battle 
of Leipsic. Colonel Mitchell says 
Gustavus owed his success almost as 
much to the spade as to the sword.— 
Life of Wallenstein, p. 210. 

f Odyssey , xxii. The practice of 
the Sikhs would probably have re¬ 
solved itself into the system of forti¬ 
fied camps of the Romans at night 


and during halts, and into the Greek 
custom of impenetrable phalanxes on 
the battle-field, while it almost an¬ 
ticipates the European tendencies of 
the day about future warfare—which 
are, to mass artillery, and make it 
overwhelming. The Sikhs would 
have moved with their infantry and 
guns together, while they swept the 


Chav. IX.] THE WAK WITH THE ENGLISH. 


301 


The Ambala and Loodiana divisions of the British 1845 , 1846 . 
army arrived at Moodkee, twenty miles from Feeroz- ' v ' 

J i i i ^ , ii i The battle 

poor, on the loth December ; and they had scarcely 0 f Moodkee, 
taken up their ground before they were attacked by a jg^ Dec ’ 
detachment of the Sikh army, believed at the time to 
be upwards of thirty thousand strong, but which really 
seems to have consisted of less than two thousand 
infantry, supported by about twenty-two pieces of artil¬ 
lery, and eight or ten thousand horsemen.* Lai Singh 
headed the attack, but, in accordance with his original 
design, he involved his followers in an engagement, 
and then left them to fight as their undirected valor 
might prompt. The Sikhs were repulsed with the loss 
of seventeen gunst, but the success of the English was 
not so complete as should have been achieved by the 
victors in so many battles ; and it was wisely determined 
to effect a junction with the division of Sir John Littler 
before assailing the advanced wing of the Sikh army, 
which was encamped in a deep horse shoe form around 
the village of P’heerooshuhur, about ten miles both from 
Moodkee and from Feerozpoor.t This position was 


country with their cavalry; and it is 
clear that no troops in India or in 
Southern Asia, save the moveable 
brigades of the English, could have 
successfully assailed them. 

* See Lord Gough’s Despatch of 
the 19th December, 1845, for the es¬ 
timate of 30,000 men, with 40 guns. 
Captain Nicolson, in his private cor¬ 
respondence of the period, and writ¬ 
ing from Feerozpoor, gives the Sikh 
force at about 3,500 only, which is 
doubtless too low, although subse¬ 
quent inquiries all tended to show 
that the infantry portion was weak, 
having been composed of small de¬ 
tachments from each of the regiments 
in position at P’heerooshuhur. The 
Calcutta Review , No. XVI., p. 489., 
estimates the guns at 22 only, and 
the estimate being moderate, it is pro¬ 
bably correct. [The Sikhs call the 
battle “ P’heeroo ka luraee,” or the 


fight of P’heeroo, simply,* without 
the addition of “ shuhur.”] 

t The British loss in the action 
was 215 killed, and 657 wounded. 
(See Lord Gough's despatch of the 
19th December, 1845.) The force 
under Lord Gough at the time 
amounted to about 11,000 men. [In 
this action, the English may, in a 
military sense, be said to have been 
surprised. Their defective system of 
spies left them ignorant of the ge¬ 
neral position and probable objects of 
the enemy; and the little use their com¬ 
manders have usually made of cavalry, 
left the near approach of the Sikhs 
unknown, and therefore unchecked.] 

J The correct name of the place, 
which has become identified with an 
important battle, is as given in the 
text;—“ P’heeroo’’being the not un¬ 
common name of a man, and “ Shu¬ 
hur” an ordinary termination, signi- 


302 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845, 1846. 


The battle 
of P’heiToo- 
shuhur, 
and retreat 
of the 
Sikhs, 

21st and 
22d Dec. 
1845. 


strengthened by more than a hundred pieces of artillery, 
and its slight and imperfect intrenchments had, here and 
there, been raised almost waist high since the action at 
Moodkee. It was believed at the time to contain about 
fifty thousand men, but subsequent inquiries reduced 
the infantry to twelve regiments, and the cavalry to the 
eight or ten thousand which bad before been engaged. 
The wing of the Sikh army attacked did not, therefore, 
greatly surpass its assailants, except in the number 
and size of its guns, the English artillery consisting 
almost wholly of six and nine pounders.* But the 
belief in the fortune of the British arms was strong, 
and the Sepoys would then have marched with alacrity 
against ten times their own numbers. 

A junction was effected with Sir John Littler’s divi¬ 
sion about midday on the 21st December, and at a 
distance of four miles from the enemy’s position. Con¬ 
siderable delay occurred in arranging the details of the 
assault, which was not commenced until within an hour 
of sunset. The confident English had at last got the 
field they wanted ; they marched in even array, and 
their famed artillery opened its steady fire. But the 
guns of the Sikhs were served with rapidity and pre¬ 
cision, and the foot-soldiers stood between and behind 


fying place or city. The name 
“ Feerozshah” is erroneous, but it is 
one likely to be taken up on hearing 
P’heerooshuhur badly pronounced by 
peasants and others. 

* Doth the Sikhs and the European 
officers in the Lahore service agree 
in saying that there were only 
twelve battalions in the lines of 
P’heerooshuhur, and such indeed 
seems to have been the truth. The 
Governor-General and Commander- 
in-Chief vaguely estimated the whole 
Sikh army on the left bank of the 
Sutlej at 60,000 strong, and Lord 
Gough makes Tej Singh bring 30,000 
horse, besides fresh battalions, and a 
large park of artillery into action on 
the 22d December, which would leave 


but a small remainder for the pre¬ 
vious defence of P'heerooshuhur.— 
See the Despatches of the 22d and 
31st December, 1845. [The author has 
learnt that, after the war, Lord Gough 
ascertained, through the British au¬ 
thorities at Lahore, that the Sikhs 
estimated their numbers at P’hee¬ 
rooshuhur at 46,808 men, of all kinds, 
with 88 guns, “ including those 
brought up and taken away by Tej 
Singh.” This low estimate of the 
strength of the Sikhs in artillery is 
in favor of the credibility of the 
statement, and if Tej Singh’s men 
are likewise included in the numbers 
given, the estimate may perhaps be 
fully trusted.] 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


303 


the batteries, firm in their order, and active with their 1845 > 184 6. 
muskets. The resistance met was wholly unexpected, v 
and all started with astonishment. Guns were dis¬ 
mounted, and their ammunition was blown into the air ; 
squadrons were checked in mid career ; battalion after 
battalion was hurled back with shattered ranks, and it 
was not until after sunset that portions of the enemy’s 
position were finally carried. Darkness, and the ob¬ 
stinacy of the contest, threw the English into confusion ; 
men of all regiments and arms were mixed together ; 
generals were doubtful of the fact or of the extent of 
their own success, and colonels knew not what had 
become of the regiments they commanded, or of the 
army of which they formed a part. Some portions of 
the enemy’s line had not been broken, and the uncap¬ 
tured guns were turned by the Sikhs upon masses of 
soldiers, oppressed with cold and thirst and fatigue, 
and who attracted the attention of the watchful enemy 
by lighting fires of brushwood to warm their stiffened 
limbs. The position of the English was one of real 
danger and great perplexity ; their mercenaries had 
proved themselves good soldiers in foreign countries as 
well as in India itself, when discipline was little known, 
or while success was continuous; but in a few hours 
the five thousand children of a distant land found that 
their art had been learnt, and that an emergency had 
arisen which would tax their energies to the utmost. 

On that memorable night the English were hardly 
masters of the ground on which they stood ; they had 
no reserve at hand, while the enemy had fallen back 
upon a second army, and could renew the fight with 
increased numbers. The not imprudent thought oc¬ 
curred of retiring upon Feerozpoor ; but Lord Gough’s 
dauntless spirit counselled otherwise, and his own and 
Lord Hardinge’s personal intrepidity in storming bat¬ 
teries, at the head of troops of English gentlemen and 
bands of hardy yeomen, eventually achieved a partial suc¬ 
cess and a temporary repose. On the morning of the 


304 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. 22(1 December, the last remnants of the Sikhs were driven 
' v ' from their camp; but as the dayadvanced the second wing 
of their army approached in battle-array, and the wearied 
and famished English saw before them a desperate and, 
perhaps, useless struggle. This reserve was com- 
manded by Tej Singh ; he had been urged by his zealous 
and sincere soldiery to fall upon the English at day¬ 
break, but his object was to have the dreaded army of 
the Khalsa overcome and dispersed, and he delayed 
until Lai Singh’s force was everywhere put to flight, 
and until his opponents had again ranged themselves 
round their colors. Even at the last moment he 
rather skirmished and made feints than led his men to 
a resolute attack, and after a time he precipitately fled, 
leaving his subordinates without orders and without an 
object, at a moment when the artillery ammunition of 
the English had failed, when a portion of their force 
was retiring upon Feerozpoor, and when no exertions 
could have prevented the remainder from retreating 
likewise, if the Sikhs had boldly pressed forward.* 


* Fox* the battle of Pheerooshuhur, 
see Lord Gough’s Despatch of the 
22d, and Lord Hardinge’s of the 
SIst December, 1845. The Governor- 
General notices in especial the exer¬ 
tions of the infantry soldiers ; and one 
of the charges made by the 3d Light 
Dragoons has been a theme of general 
admiration. The loss sustained was 
694 killed, and 1721 wounded. 

[After the war, Lord Gough learnt 
that the loss of the Sikhs in killed 
probably amounted to 2000 in all, as 
the heirs of 1782 men of the regular 
troops alone claimed balances of pay 
due to i*elatives slain. This argues a 
great slaughter ; and yet it was a 
common remark at the time, that 
very few dead bodies were to be seen 
on the field after the action.] 

The statements of the Quarterly 
Review for June, 1846, pp. 203-206., 
and of the Calcutta Review for De¬ 
cember, 1847, p. 498., may be re¬ 
ferred to about certain points still but 
imperfectly known, and which it is 


only necessary to allude to in a ge¬ 
neral way in this history. Two of 
the points are: 1st, the proposal to 
fall back on Feeroozpoor during the 
night of the 21st December; and 2d, 
the actual movement of a considerable 
portion of the British army towards 
that place on the forenoon of the fol¬ 
lowing day. 

Had the Sikhs been efficiently com¬ 
manded, a retirement on Feerozpoor 
would have been judicious in a mili¬ 
tary point of view, but as the enemy 
was led by traitors, it was best to 
fearlessly keep the field. Perhaps 
neither the incapacity nor the treason 
of Lai Singh and Tej Singh were 
fully perceived or credited by the 
English chiefs, and hence the anxiety 
of the one on whom the maintenance 
of the British dominion intact mainly 
depended. 

At P’heerooshuhur the larger cali¬ 
bre and greater weight of metal of the 
mass of the Sikh artillery, and conse¬ 
quently the superiority of practice re- 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH 


305 


A battle has thus been won, and more than seventy 
pieces of artillery, and some conquered or confiscated 
territories, graced the success ; but the victors had lost 
a seventh of their numbers, they were paralyzed after 
their prodigious exertions and intense excitement, and 
the Sikhs were allowed to cross the Sutlej at their 
leisure to prepare for fresh contests. The Sepoy mer¬ 
cenaries had for the first time met an equal antagonist 
with their own weapons—even ranks and the fire of 
artillery. They loudly complained of the inferiority of 
their cannon ; they magnified banks two and three feet 
high into formidable ramparts, and exploding tumbrils 
and stores of powder became, in their imaginations, de¬ 
signed and deadly mines. Nor was this feeling of 
respect and exaggeration confined to the Indians alone ; 
the European soldiers partook of it; and the British 
public, as well as the dignitaries of the church and the 
heads of the state, became impressed with the im¬ 
mensity of the danger which had threatened the peace, 
and perhaps the safety, of their exotic dominion.* Re¬ 


1845,1846. 


The diffi¬ 
culties and 
apprehen¬ 
sions of the 
English. 


latively to that of the field guns of the 
English, was markedly apparent in the 
condition of the two parks after the 
battle. The captured cannon showed 
scarcely any marks of round shot or 
shells, while nearly a third of the Bri¬ 
tish guns were disabled in their car¬ 
riages or tumbrils. 

With regard to this battle it may 
be observed, that the English had not 
that exact knowledge of the Sikh 
strength and position which might 
have been obtained even by means of 
reconnoitring; and it may also per¬ 
haps be said that the attack should 
have been made in column rather 
than in line, and after the long flanks 
of the enemy’s position had been en¬ 
filaded by artillery. The extent, in¬ 
deed, to which the English were un¬ 
prepared for a campaign, and the 
manner in which their forces were 
commanded in most of the actions of 
the war, should be carefully borne in 
mind ; for it was defective tactics and 
the absolute want of ammunition, as 

X 


much as the native valor and apti¬ 
tude of the Sikhs, which gave for a 
time a character of equality to the 
struggle, and which in this History 
seems to make a comparatively petty 
power dispute with the English su¬ 
premacy in Northern India. Had 
the English been better led and 
better equipped, the fame of the 
Sikhs would not have been so great 
as it is, and the British chronicler 
would have been spared the ungra¬ 
cious task of declaring unpleasing 
truths. No one, however, can be in¬ 
sensible to the claims which the 
veteran chief of the army has esta¬ 
blished to his country’s gratitude, by 
his cheering hardihood under every 
circumstance of danger, and by his 
great successes over all opponents. 
The robust character of Lord Gough 
has on many occasions stood England 
in good stead. 

* The alarm of the English about 
the occupation of Delhi and the pass¬ 
age of the Jumna, may be likened 


306 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. 


ginients of men, and numerous single officers variously 
employed, were summoned from the most distant pro¬ 
vinces to aid in vindicating the military renown of the 
English race, and the political supremacy of three 
generations. All longed for retribution, and all were 
cheered amid their difficulties by the genial temper and 
lofty bearing of one chief; and by the systematic in¬ 
dustry and full knowledge of military requirements 
possessed by the other. But joy and gratitude were yet 
uppermost for the moment; the hope of revenge was 
disturbed by the remembrance of danger ; and, unmind¬ 
ful of the rebuke of the wise Ulysses, a partial Divinity 
was praised by proclamation, for the deliverance he had 
vouchsafed to his votaries. 

“ Unholy is the voice 

Of loud thanksgiving over slaughtered men.” * 


to the nervous dread of Augustus, 
when he heard of the defeat of Varus 
and the destruction of his legions ; 
and that one so astute, and so familiar 
with the sources of Roman power 
and the causes of Roman weakness, 
should have feared the consequences 
of a German invasion of Italy, at once 
palliates the apprehensions of the 
English in India, and shows upon 
what slight foundations and undreamt 
of chances the mightiest fabrics of 
dominion sometimes rest. Yet it is 
not clear that Augustus was not 
alarmed rather for himself than for 
Rome. He may have thought that 
a successful inroad of barbarians 
would encourage domestic enemies, 
and so lead to his own downfall, with¬ 
out sensibly affecting the real power 
of his country. Similarly, the appre¬ 
hensions of the English after P’hee- 
rooshuhur may be said to have had a 
personal as much as a national refer¬ 
ence, and tiiere is no good reason for 
believing that one or two or even 
three defeats on the Sutlej would 
have shaken the stability of the Bri¬ 
tish rule to the east and south of 
Delhi. All the chiefs of India, in¬ 
deed, are willing enough to be inde¬ 
pendent, but no union for any such 


purpose yet exists among them, and 
only one or two are at any moment 
ready to take up arms; whereas the 
resources of the English are vast, 
obedience among them is perfect, and 
victory would soon return to valour 
and unanimity. Still, an unsuccess¬ 
ful warfare on the part of the English 
of three or four consecutive years, 
might justly be regarded as the com¬ 
mencement of their decline; although 
it is very doubtful whether any com¬ 
bination of the present powers of 
India could drive them from Bengal, 
or from the coasts of the Deccan. 

* Odyssey, xxii. The Governor- 
General’s notification of the 25th De¬ 
cember, 1845, calls upon the troops 
to render acknowledgments to God, 
and the ecclesiastical authorities in 
Calcutta subsequently circulated a 
form of thanksgiving. The anxiety 
of the Governor-General may be fur¬ 
ther inferred from his proclamation, 
encouraging desertion from the Sikh 
ranks, with the assurance of present 
rewards and future pensions, and the 
immediate decision of any lawsuits in 
which the deserters might be engaged in 
the British provinces ! [Major Smyth’s 
Reigning Family of Lahore, Introd. 
xxvi. note.] 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


307 


The British army was gradually reinforced, and it 
took up a position stretching from Feerozpoor towards 
Hurreekee, and parallel to that held by the Sikhs on the 
right bank of the Sutlej. But the want of ammunition 
and heavy guns reduced the English to inactivity, and 
delay produced negligence on their part and embol¬ 
dened the enemy to fresh acts of daring. The Cis- 
Sutlej feudatories kept aloof from their new masters, 
or they excited disturbances; and the Raja of Ladwa, 
a petty prince dependent on the English, but who had 
been denounced as a traitor for a year past*, openly 
proceeded from the neighborhood of Kurnal, and joined 
the division of the Sikh army under Runjor Singh, 
which had crossed the Jalundhur Dooab, to the neigh¬ 
borhood of Loodiana. This important town had been 
denuded of its troops to swell the first army of defence, 
and it was but slowly and partially garrisoned by fresh re¬ 
giments arriving from the eastward, although it covered 
the several lines of approach from the Jumna towards 
Feerozpoor.t Early in January the Raja of Ladwa re- 


1845, 1846. 


The Sikhs 

recross the 

Sutlej, and 

threaten 

Loodiana, 

January, 

1846. 


The feeling which prompted the 
troops of Cromwell or Gustavus to 
kneel and return thanks to God on the 
field of victory, must ever be admired 
and honored; for it was genuine, and 
pervaded all ranks, from the leader 
downwards, and it would equally 
have moved the soldiers to reproaches 
and humiliation had they been beaten. 
But such tokens of reverence and 
abasement come coldly and without 
a vital meaning in the guise of a 
«general order ” or “ circular me¬ 
morandum;” and perhaps a civilized 
and intelligent government might 
with advantage refrain from such 
tame and passionless assurances of 
devotion and gratitude, while it gave 
more attention to religious exercises 
in its regimental regulations. God 
should rather be kept ever present to 
the minds of the armed servants of 
the state by daily worship and in¬ 
struction, than ostentatiously lauded 
on the rare occasion of a victory. 


* Major Broadfoot to government, 
13th December, 1844. This chief 
received the title of Raja from Lord 
Auckland, partly as a compliment to 
Runjeet Singh, to whom he was re¬ 
lated, and partly in approbation of 
his liberality in providing the means of 
throwing a bridge across the classical 
Sursootee, at Thanehsir. He was a 
reckless, dissipated man, of moderate 
capacity; but he inherited the unset¬ 
tled disposition of his father, Goordut 
Singh, who once held Kurnal and 
some villages to the east of the Jumna, 
and who caused the English some 
trouble between 1803 and 1809. 

f It is not clear why Loodiana 
was not adequately garrisoned, or ra¬ 
ther covered, by the troops which 
marched from Meerut after the battle 
of P’heerooshuhur. The Governor- 
General’s attention was indeed chiefly 
given to strengthening the main army 
in its unsupported position of Feeroz¬ 
poor,—the real military disadvantage 



308 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. turned to withdraw his family from his fief of Buddowal 

-' near Loodiana, and he took the opportunity of burning a 

portion of the cantonment at the latter place, which the 
paucity of infantry and the want of cavalry on the spot 
enabled him to do with impunity. About the same time, 
the main army of the Sikhs, observing the supineness 
of their opponents, began to recross the Sutlej and to 
construct a bridge-head to secure the freedom of their 
passage. The English were unwillingly induced to let 
the Sikhs labor at this work, for it was feared that an 
attack would bring on a general engagement, and that 
the want of ammunition would prevent a battle being 
won or a victory being completed. The Sikhs naturally 
exulted, and they proclaimed that they would again fall 
upon the hated foreigners. Nor were their boasts alto¬ 
gether disbelieved ; the disadvantages of Feerozpoor as 
a frontier post became more and more apparent, and the 
English began to experience difficulty in obtaining sup¬ 
plies from the country they had annexed by the pen, 
without having secured by the sword. The petty fort 
of Mookutsur, where Govind repulsed his Moghul pur¬ 
suers after his flight from Chumkowr, was successfully 
defended for a time against some provincial companies 
and the auxiliaries of Beekaneer, which, like the legion¬ 
aries themselves, were deficient in artillery ammunition. 
The equally petty fort of Dhurmkdt was held, in defiance 
of the near presence of the right wing of the English 
army; and other defensible places towards Sirhind 
overawed the population, and interfered with the peace¬ 
ful march of convoys and detachments.* 


of which he had ample reason to de¬ 
plore ; while amidst his difficulties it 
may possibly have occurred to his 
Lordship, that the original policy of 
1809 —of being strong on the Jumna 
rather than on the Sutlej—was a truly 
wise one with reference to the avoid¬ 
ance of a war with the Sikhs. 

The desire of being in force near 
the capitals of the Punjab and the 
main army of the Sikhs, likewise in¬ 


duced Lord Hardinge to direct Sir 
Charles Napier to march from Sindh, 
without heeding Mooltan, although, 
as his Lordship publicly acknow¬ 
ledged, that victorious commander 
had been sent for when it was thought 
the campaign might become a series 
of sieges. 

* The hill station of Simlah, where 
many English families reside, and 
which is near the Sutlej, and the 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


309 


On the 17th January, 1846, Major-General Sir 18: 45,1846. 
Harry Smith was sent with a brigade to capture The ^7 
Dhurmkdt, which was surrendered without bloodshed, mish of 
and the transit of grain to the army was thus rendered 
more secure. The original object of Sir Harry Smith’s 1846 . 
diversion was to cover the march of the large convoy 
of guns, ammunition, and treasure in progress to 
Feerozpoor, as well as to clear the country of partizan 
troops which restricted the freedom of traffic ; but 
when it became known that Runjor Singh had crossed 
the Sutlej in force and threatened Loodiana, the general 
was ordered to proceed to the relief of that place. On 
the 20th of January he encamped at the trading town 
of Jugraon, within twenty-five miles of his destination, 
and the authorities of the son of Futteh Singh Alhoo- 
walee, of the treaty of 1805, to whom the place be¬ 
longed, readily allowed him to occupy its well-built fort. 

It was known on that day that Runjor Singh was in 
position immediately to the westward of Loodiana, and 
that he had thrown a small garrison into Buddowal, 
which lay about eighteen miles distant on the direct 
road from Jugraon. The British detachment, which 
had been swelled by reinforcements to four regiments of 
infantry, three regiments of cavalry, and eighteen guns, 
marched soon after midnight ; and early on the morn¬ 
ing of the 21st January, it was learnt that the whole 
Sikh army, estimated at ten thousand men, had moved 
to Buddowal during the preceding day. That place 
was then distant eight miles from the head of the 
column, and Sir Harry Smith considered that if he 
made a detour to the right, so as to leave the Sikhs 
about three miles on his other flank, he would be able 

equally accessible posts of Kussowlee But the local British authorities were 
and Subathoo, were at this time like- active in collecting the quotas of the 
wise threatened by the Lahore feuda- hill Rajpoots, and judicious in making 
tory of Mundee, and some Sikh par- use of their means ; and no actual 
tizans; and as the regiments usually incursion took place, although a tur- 
stationed at these places had been bulent sharer in the sequestered 
wholly withdrawn, it woidd not have A nundpoor-Makhowal had to be 
been difficult to have destroyed them, called to account. 


310 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX 


1845,1846. t 0 e flf ec t his junction with the Loodiana brigade without 
4 Y ; molestation. A short halt took place to enable the bag¬ 
gage to get somewhat a-head, and it was arranged that 
the long strings of animals should move parallel to the 
troops and on the right flank, so as to be covered by the 
column. As Buddowal was approached, the Sikhs were 
seen to be in motion likewise, and apparently to be bent 
on intercepting the English; but as it was not wished 
to give them battle, Sir Harry Smith continued his 
march, inclining however still more to his right, and 
making occasional halts with the cavalry to enable the 
infantry to close up, it having fallen behind owing to 
the heavy nature of the ground. But the Sikhs were 
resolved on fighting, and they commenced a fire of 
artillery on the British horse, which obtained a partial 
cover under sand banks, while the guns of the detach¬ 
ment opened upon the Sikhs and served to keep their 
line in check. By the time that the British infantry 
and small rear-guard of cavalry had closed up, the fire 
of the Sikhs had begun to tell, and it was thought that 
a steady charge by the infantry would throw them into 
disorder, and would allow the baggage to pass on, and 
give time to the Loodiana troops to come to the aid of 
their comrades. A close contest was indeed the prompt¬ 
ing of every one’s heart at the moment; but as the regi¬ 
ments of foot were being formed into line, it was found 
that the active Sikhs had dragged guns, unperceived, 
behind sand hillocks to the rear of the column,— or, as 
matters then stood, that they had turned their enemy’s 
left flank. These guns threw their enfilading shot with 
great rapidity and precision, and whole sections of men 
were seen to fall at a time without an audible groan 
amid the hissing of the iron storm. The ground was 
heavy, the men were wearied with a march of nine 
hours and eighteen miles, and it became evident that a 
charge might prove fatal to the exhausted victors. The 
infantry once more resumed its march, and its retire¬ 
ment or retreat upon Loodiana was covered with skill 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


311 


and steadiness by the cavalry. The Sikhs did not 1845 , 1846 . 
pursue, for they were without a leader, or without one * 
who wished to see the English beaten. Runjor Singh 
let his soldiers engage in battle, but that he accom¬ 
panied them into the fight is more than doubtful, and it 
is certain that he did not essay the easy task of im¬ 
proving the success of his own men into the complete 
reverse of his enemy. The mass of the British bag¬ 
gage was at hand, and the temptation to plunder could 
not be resisted by men who were without orders to 
conquer. Every beast of burden which had not got 
within sight of Loodiana, or which had not, timorously 
but prudently, been taken back to Jugraon, when the 
firing was heard, fell into the hands of the Sikhs, and 
they were enabled boastfully to exhibit artillery store 
carts as if they had captured British cannon.* 

Loodiana was relieved, but an unsuccessful skirmish The Sikhs 
added to the belief so pleasing- to the prostrate princes en< -<>u r aged, 
of India, that the dreaded army of their foreign masters Singh in- 
had at last been foiled by the skill and valor of the 
disciples of Govind, the kindred children of their own Lahore, 
soil. The British Sepoys glanced furtively at one 
another, or looked towards the east, their home ; and 
the brows of Englishmen themselves grew darker as 
they thought of struggles rather than triumphs. The 
Governor-General and Commander-in-chief trembled for 
the safety of that siege train and convoy of ammunition, 
so necessary to the efficiency of an army which they had 
launched in haste against aggressors and received back 
shattered by the shock of opposing arms. The leader 
of the beaten brigades saw before him a tarnished name 
after the labors of a life, nor was he met by many 


* Compare the Governor-General 
to the Secret Committee, 19th Janu¬ 
ary and 3d February, and Lord 
Gough’s despatch of the 1st February, 
1845. After the skirmish of the 21st 
January, there were found to be sixty- 
nine killed, sixty-eight wounded, and 


seventy-seven missing; of which last, 
several were taken prisoners, while 
others rejoined their corps in a day or 
two. Of the prisoners, Mr. Barron, 
an assistant-surgeon, and some Eu¬ 
ropean soldiers, were taken to La¬ 
hore. 


312 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845 , 1846 . encouraging- hopes of rapid retribution. The Sikhs 
v Y on their side were correspondingly elated ; the presence 
of European prisoners added to their triumph ; Lai 
Singh and Tej Singh shrank within themselves with 
fear, and Golab Singh, who had been spontaneously 
hailed as minister and leader, began to think that 
the Khalsa was really formidable to one greater far 
than himself, and he arrived at Lahore on the 27th 
of January, to give unity and vigor to the counsels of 
the Sikhs. # The army under Tej Singh had recrossed 
the Sutlej in force ; it had enlarged the bridge-head 
before alluded to, and so entrenched a strong position 
in the face of the British divisions. The Sikhs seemed 
again to be about to carry the war into the country of 
their enemy; but Golab Singh came too late,—their 
fame had reached its height, and defeat and subjection 
speedily overtook them. 

The battle During the night of the 22 nd January, Runjor 
of Aieewai, Singh marched from Buddowal to a place on the Sutlej 
1846. an about fifteen miles below Loodiana, where he imme¬ 
diately collected a number of boats as if to secure the 
passage of the river. The object of this movement is 
not known; but it may have been caused by a want 
of confidence on the part of the Sikhs themselves, as 
there were few regular regiments among them, until 
joined by a brigade of four battalions and some guns 
from the main army, which gave them a force of not 
less than fifteen thousand combatants. Sir Harry 
Smith immediately occupied the deserted position of the 
enemy, and he was himself reinforced simultaneously 
with the Sikhs by a brigade from the main army of the 
English. On the 28 th January the general marched 
with his eleven thousand men, to give the enemy battle, 
or to reconnoitre his position and assail it in some 
degree of form, should circumstances render such a 
course the most prudent. The Sikhs were nearly ten 

* Compare the Governor-General to the Secret Committee, 3d Feb¬ 
ruary, 1846. 


Chap. IX.] TIIE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


313 


miles distant, and midway it was learnt that they were 1845 , 1846 . 
about to move with the avowed object of proceeding Y 
with a part or the whole of their force to relieve the 
fort of Goongrana or to occupy the neighboring town 
of Jugraon, both of which posts were close to the line 
of the British communications with the Jumna. On 
reaching the edge of the table land, bounding the sunken 
belt of many miles in breadth within which the narrower 
channel of the Sutlej proper winds irregularly, a portion 
of the Sikhs were observed to be in motion in a direc¬ 
tion which would take them clear of the left of the 
British approach; but as soon they saw that they 
were liable to be attacked in flank, they faced towards 
their enemy, and occupied with their right the village 
of Boondree, and with their left the little hamlet of 
Aleewal, while with that activity necessary to their 
system, and characteristic of the spirit of the common 
soldiers, they immediately began to throw up banks of 
earth before their guns, where not otherwise protected, 
such as would afford some cover to themselves and offer 
some impediment to their assailants. An immediate 
collision was inevitable, and the British commander 
promptly gave the order for battle. The regiments of 
cavalry which headed the advance opened their glittering 
ranks to the right and left, and made apparent the 
serried battalions of infantry and the frowning batteries of 
cannon. The scene was magnificent and yet overawing: 
the eye included the whole field, and glanced approvingly 
from the steady order of one foe to the even array of 
the other ; all bespoke gladness of mind and strength 
of heart; but beneath the elate looks of the advancing 
warriors there lurked that fierce desire for the death of 
his fellows which must ever impel the valiant soldier. 

When thus deployed, the lines of battle were not truly 
parallel. The Sikh line inclined towards and extended 
beyond the British right, while the other flanks were, 
for a time, comparatively distant. The English had 
scarcely halted during their march of eight miles, even 


314 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. j 0 f orm their line; but the Sikhs nevertheless com- 
’ Y ' menced the action. It was perceived by Sir Harry 
Smith that the capture of the village of Aleewal was 
of the first importance, and the right of the infantry 
was led against it. A deadly struggle seemed impend¬ 
ing ; for the Sikh ranks were steady and the play of 
their guns incessant; but the holders of the post were 
battalions of hill men, raised because their demeanor 
was sober and their hearts indifferent to the Khalsa, 
and after firing a straggling volley, they fled in con¬ 
fusion, headed by Runjor Singh, their immediate leader, * 
and leaving the brave Sikh artillerymen to be slaughtered 
by the conquerors. The British cavalry of the right 
made at the same time a sweeping and successful 
charge, and one half of the opposing army was fairly 
broken and dispersed; but the Sikhs on their own 
right seemed to be outflanking their opponents in spite 
of the exertions of the English infantry and artillery ; 
for there the more regular battalions were in line, and 
the true Sikh was not easily cowed. A prompt and 
powerful effort was necessary, and a regiment of Eu¬ 
ropean lancers, supported by one of Indian cavalry, 
was launched against the even ranks of the Lahore in¬ 
fantry. The Sikhs knelt to receive the orderly but 
impetuous charge of the English warriors, moved alike 
by noble recollections of their country, by military 
emulation, and by personal feelings of revenge ; but at 
the critical moment, the unaccustomed discipline of 
many of Govind’s champions failed them. They rose, 
yet they reserved their fire, and delivered it together 
at the distance of a spear’s throw ; nor was it until the 
mass had been three times ridden through that the 
Sikhs dispersed. The charge was timely and bold ; 
but the ground was more thickly strewn with the bodies 
of victorious horsemen than of beaten infantry. An 
attempt was made to rally behind Boondree ; but all 
resistance was unavailing, the Sikhs were driven across 
the Sutlej, more than fifty pieces of cannon were taken, 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


315 


and the general forgot his sorrows, and the soldiers their 
sufferings and indignities, in the fulness of their com¬ 
mon triumph over a worthy enemy, in a well-planned 
and bravely fought battle.* 

The victory was equally important and opportune, 
and the time-serving Golab Singh, whose skill and 
capacity might have protracted the war, first reproached 
the vanquished Sikhs for rashly engaging in hostilities 
with their colossal neighbor, and then entered into 
negotiations with the English leaders.t The Governor- 


* Compare Sir Harry Smith’s de¬ 
spatch of the 30th January, and Lord 
Gough’s despatch of the 1st Feb¬ 
ruary, 1846. (Parliamentary Papers, 

1846).—The loss sustained was 151 
killed, 413 wounded, and 25 missing. 

The Calcutta Review, No. XVI. 
p. 499., states that Sir Harry Smith 
required some pressing before he 
would engage the Sikhs, after his re¬ 
verse at Buddow&l. That active 
leader, however, was in no need of 
such promptings, and had adequate 
reinforcements reached him sooner 
than they did, the battle of Aleewal 
would have been sooner fought. It 
may likewise be here mentioned, that 
neither does the reviewer throughout 
his article do fair justice to Lord 
Gough, nor, in a particular instance, 
to the commissariat department of 
the army. Thus, with regard to the 
Commander-in-chief, it is more than 
hinted (see p. 497.), that Lord Har- 
dinge was in no way to blame,—that is, 
that Lord Gough was to blame,—for 
the delay which occurred in attacking 
the Sikhs at P’heerooshuhur. It may 
be difficult to ascertain the causes, or 
to apportion the blame, but the Go¬ 
vernor-General can proudly stand on 
his acknowledged merits and services, 
and wants no support at the expense 
of an ancient comrade in arms. 
Again, with regard to the commis¬ 
sariat, it is stated, at p. 488., that 
supplies, which the head of the de¬ 
partment in the field asked six weeks 
to furnish, were procured by Major 
Broadfoot in six days. The com¬ 
missariat department could only use 
money and effect purchases by con¬ 


tract, or in the open market; but 
Major Broadfoot could summarily 
require “ protected chiefs,” on pain 
of confiscation, to meet all his de¬ 
mands ; and the writer of the article 
might have learnt, or must have been 
aware, that the requisitions in ques¬ 
tion led to one chief being disgraced 
by the imposition of a fine, and had 
some share in the subsequent deposal 
of another. Had the British magis¬ 
trates of Delhi, Seharunpoor, Ba¬ 
reilly, and other places, been simi¬ 
larly empowered to seize by force 
the grain and carriage within their 
limits, there would have been no oc¬ 
casion to disparage the commissariat 
department. Further, it is known to 
many, and it is in itself plain, that 
had the military authorities been re¬ 
quired, or allowed, to prepare them¬ 
selves as they wished, they as simple 
soldiers, who had no financial diffi¬ 
culties to consider, would have been 
amply prepared with all that an army 
of invasion or defence could have re¬ 
quired, long before the Sikhs crossed 
the Sutlej. Lord Hardinge was 
chiefly responsible for the timely and 
adequate equipment of the army, in 
anticipation of a probable war; and 
with the Governor-General in the 
field, possessed of superior and ano¬ 
malous powers, the Commander-in- 
chief could only be held responsible 
—and that but to a limited extent— 
for the strategy of a campaign or the 
conduct of a battle. 

f Compare the Governor-General 
to the Secret Committee, of the 19th 
February, 1846. 


1845,1846. 


The Sikh 
chiefs 
anxious to 
treat, and 
the English 
desirous of 
ending the 
war. 



316 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX 


1845,1846. General was not displeased that the Xahore authorities 
v v should be ready to yield ; for he truly felt that to 
subjugate the Punjab in one season, to defeat an army 
as numerous as his own, to take two capitals, and to 
lay siege to Mooltan, and Jumrnoo and Peshawur,—all 
within a few months,—was a task of difficult achieve¬ 
ment and full of imminent risks. The dominion of the 
English in India hinges mainly upon the number and 
efficiency of the troops of their own race which they 
can bring into the field ; and a campaign in the hot 
weather would have thinned the ranks of the European 
regiments under the most favorable circumstances, and 
the ordinary recurrence of an epidemic disease would 
have proved as fatal to the officers of every corps pre¬ 
sent as to the common soldiers. But besides this im¬ 
portant consideration, it was felt that the minds of men 
throughout India were agitated, and that protracted 
hostilities would not only jeopardize the communications 
with the Jumna, but might disturb the whole of the 
north-western provinces, swarming with a military 
population which is ready to follow any standard af¬ 
fording pay or allowing plunder, and which already 
sighs for the end of a dull reign of peace. Bright 
visions of standing triumphant on the Indus and of 
numbering the remotest conquests of Alexander among 
the provinces of Britain, doubtless warmed the imagina¬ 
tion of the Governor-General; but the first object was 
to drive the Sikhs across the Sutlej by force of arms, 
or to have them withdrawn to their own side of the 
river by the unconditional submission of the chiefs and 
the delegates of the army ; for, until that were done, 
no progress could be said to have been made in the 
war, and every petty chief in Hindostan would have 
silently prepared for asserting his independence, or for 
enlarging his territory on the first opportunity. But 
the total dispersion of so large and so well equipped a 
body of brave men, as that which lay within sight of 
the available force of the British government, could 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


317 


not be accomplished by one defeat, if the chiefs of the 1845,1846. 
country were to be rendered desperate, and if all were v Y ; 
to place their valor and unanimity under the direction 
of one able man. The English, therefore, intimated 
to Golab Singh their readiness to acknowledge a Sikh 
sovereignty in Lahore after the army should have been 
disbanded ; but the raja declared his inability to deal 
with the troops, which still overawed him and other 
well-wishers to the family of Runjeet Singh. This 
helplessness was partly exaggerated for selfish objects ; 
but time pressed ; the speedy dictation of a treaty under 
the walls of Lahore was essential to the British reputa¬ 
tion ; and the views of either party were in some sort 
met by an understanding that the Sikh army should be An under¬ 
attacked by the English, and that when beaten it should come to^ 
be openly abandoned by its own government; and fur- that the 
tlier, that the passage of the Sutlej should be unop- shall 
posed and the road to the capital laid open to the victors, attacked by 
Under such circumstances of discreet policy and shame- desertedTy 
less treason was the battle of Subraon fought.* the other. 

The Sikhs had gradually brought the greater part The de- 
of their force into the intrenchment on the left bank of f ?y sive P°- 

sition ot 

the Sutlej, which had been enlarged as impulse prompted the Sikhs. 
Or as opportunity seemed to offer. They placed sixty- 
seven pieces of artillery in battery, and their strength 
was estimated at thirty-five thousand fighting men; 
hut it is probable that twenty thousand would exceed 
the truth; and of that reduced number, it is certain 
that all were not regular troops. The intrenchment 
likewise showed a fatal want of unity of command and 
of design ; and at Subraon, as in the other battles of 


* Compare the Governor-General’s 
letter to the Secret Committee, of the 
19th February, 1846 ; from which, 
however, those only who were mixed 
up with the negotiations can extract 
aught indicative of the understanding 
with Golab Singh which is alluded 
to in the text. [It was for this note 


chiefly, if not entirely, that the author 
was removed from political employ¬ 
ment by the East India Company. 
This was the author’s own conviction, 
from careful inquiries made in India ; 
and has been the result of equally 
careful inquiries made by me in 
England.—P. C.] 


318 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. the campaign, the soldiers did everything and the 

v y -- leaders nothing. Hearts to dare and hands to execute 

were numerous ; but there was no mind to guide and 
animate the whole :—each inferior commander defended 
his front according to his skill and his means, and the 
centre and left, where the disciplined battalions were 
mainly stationed, had batteries and salient points as 
high as the stature of a man, and ditches which an 
armed soldier could not leap without exertion; but a 
considerable part of the line exhibited at intervals the 
petty obstacles of a succession of such banks and 
trenches as would shelter a crouching marksman or 
help him to sleep in security when no longer a watcher. 
This was especially the case on the right flank, where 
the looseness of the river sand rendered it impossible 
to throw up parapets without art and labour, and where 
irregular troops, the least able to remedy such disad¬ 
vantages, had been allowed or compelled to take up 
their position. The flank in question was mainly 
guarded by a line of two hundred “ zumbooruks ” or 
falconets ; but it derived some support from a salient 
battery, and from the heavy guns retained on the oppo¬ 
site bank of the river.* Tej Singh commanded in this 
intrench ment, and Lai Singh lay with his horse in loose 
order higher up the stream, watched by a body of 
British cavalry. The Sikhs, generally, were some¬ 
what cast down by the defeat at Aleewal, and by the 
sight of the unhonored remains of their comrades float¬ 
ing down the Sutlej ; but the self-confidence of a 
multitude soon returns: they had been cheered by the 
capture of a post of observation established by the 


* The ordinary belief that the in- 
trenchments of Subraon were jointly 
planned and executed by a French 
and a Spanish colonel, is as devoid of 
foundation as that the Sikh army was 
rendered effective solely by the la¬ 
bors and skill of French and Italian 
generals. Hurbon the brave Spaniard, 


and Mouton the Frenchman, who 
were at Subraon, doubtless exerted 
themselves where they could, but 
their authority or their influence did 
not extend beyond a regiment or a 
brigade, and the lines showed no 
trace whatever of scientific skill or of 
unity of design. 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


319 


English and left unoccupied at night, and they resumed 1845,1846. 
their vaunting practice of performing their military v y ' 
exercises almost within hail of the British pickets. 

Yet the judgment of the old and experienced could not 
be deceived; the dangers which threatened the Sikh 
people pressed upon their minds; they saw no escape 
from domestic anarchy or from foreign subjection, and 
the grey-headed chief Sham Singh of Ataree, made 
known his resolution to die in the first conflict with the 
enemies of his race, and so to offer himself up as a 
sacrifice of propitiation to the spirit of Govind and to 
the genius of his mystic commonwealth. 

In the British camp the confidence of the soldiery TheEn- 
was likewise great, and none there despaired of the ^attack!* 
fortune of England. The spirits of the men had been 
raised by the victory of Aleewal, and early in February 
a formidable siege train and ample stores of ammunition 
arrived from Delhi. The Sepoys looked with delight 
upon the long array of stately elephants dragging the 
huge and heavy ordnance of their predilections, and the 
heart of the Englishman himself swelled with pride as 
he beheld these dread symbols of the wide dominion of 
his race. It was determined that the Sikh position 
should be attacked on the 10th February, and various 
plans were laid down for making victory sure, and for 
the speedy gratification of a burning resentment. The 
officers of artillery naturally desired that their guns, 
the representatives of a high art, should be used agree¬ 
ably to the established rules of the engineer, or that 
ramparts should be breached in front and swept in flank 
before they were stormed by defenceless battalions ; but 
such deliberate tediousness of process did not satisfy 
the judgment or the impatience of the commanders, and 
it was arranged that the whole of the heavy ordnance 
should be planted in masses opposite particular points 
of the enemy’s intrenchment, and that when the Sikhs 
had been shaken by a continuous storm of shot and 
shell, the right or weakest part of the position should 


320 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845 , 1846 . be assaulted in line by the strongest of the three in- 
'-v-' vesting divisions, which together mustered nearly fif¬ 

teen thousand men. A large body of British cavalry 
was likewise placed to watch the movements of Lai 
Singh, and the two divisions which lay near Feerozpoor 
were held ready to push across the Sutlej as soon as 
victory should declare itself. The precise mode of 
attack was not divulged, or indeed finally settled, until 
noon of the preceding day, for it was desired to sur¬ 
prize the commanding post of observation, which indif¬ 
ference or negligence had allowed to fall into the hands 
of the Sikhs a short time before. The evening and 
the early hours of darkness of the 9th February were 
thus occupied with busy preparations; the hitherto 
silent camp poured all its numbers abroad; soldiers 
stood in groups, talking of the task to be achieved by 
their valor ; officers rode hastily along to receive or 
deliver orders; and on that night what Englishman 
passed battalion after battalion to seek a short repose, 
or a moment’s solitary communion, and listened as he 
went to the hammering of shells and the piling of 
iron shot, or beheld the sentinel pacing silently along 
by the gleam of renewed fires, without recalling to 
mind his heroic king and the eve of Agincourt, ren¬ 
dered doubly immortal by the genius of Shakspeare ? 
The battle The British divisions advanced in silence, amid the 
loth IVb. n, darkness of night and the additional gloom of a thick 
1846 . haze. The coveted post was found unoccupied ; the 
Sikhs seemed everywhere taken by surprize, and they 
beat clamorously to arms when they saw themselves 
about to be assailed. The English batteries opened at 
sunrise, and for upwards of three hours an incessant 
play of artillery was kept up upon the general mass of 
the enemy. The round shot exploded tumbrils, or 
dashed heaps of sand into the air; the hollow shells 
cast their fatal contents fully before them, and the de¬ 
vious rockets sprang aloft with fury to fall hissing amid 
a flood of men ; but all was in vain, the Sikhs stood 


Ciiai*. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


317* 


unappalled, and “ flash for flash returned, and fire for 1845 »i846. 
fire.” The field was resplendent with embattled war- s * ' 

riors, one moment umbered in volumes of sulphurous 
smoke, and another brightly apparent amid the splendor 
of beaming brass and the cold and piercing rays of 
polished steel. The roar and loud reverberation of the 
ponderous ordnance added to the impressive interest of 
the scene, and fell gratefully upon the ear of the intent 
and enduring soldier. But as the sun rose higher, it 
was felt that a distant and aimless cannonade would 
still leave the strife to be begun, and victory to be 
achieved by the valiant hearts of the close-fighting 
infantry. The guns ceased for a time, and each war¬ 
rior addressed himself in silence to the coming conflict 
— a glimmering eye and a firmer grasp of his weapon 
alone telling of the mighty spirit which wrought within 
him. The left division of the British army advanced 
in even order and with a light step to the attack, but 
the original error of forming the regiments in line 
instead of in column rendered the contest more unequal 
than such assaults need necessarily be. Every shot 
from the enemy’s lines told upon the expanse of men, 
and the greater part of the division was driven back by 
the deadly fire of muskets and swivels and enfilading 
artillery. On the extreme left, the regiments effected 
an entrance amid the advanced banks and trenches of 
petty outworks where possession could be of little avail; 
hut their comrades on the right were animated by the 
partial success; they chafed under the disgrace of re¬ 
pulse, and forming themselves instinctively into wedges 
and masses, and headed by an old and fearless leader, 
they rushed forward in wrath.* With a shout they 
leaped the ditch, and upswarming, they mounted the 
rampart, and stood victorious amid captured cannon. 

But the effort was great; the Sikhs fought with steadi- 


* Sir Robert Dick was mortally wounded close to the trenches while 
cheering on his ardent followers. 

[x] 


318* 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. ness an d resolution ; guns in the interior were turned 
' v ' upon the exhausted assailants, and the line of trench 
alone was gained. Nor was this achievement the work 
of a moment. The repulse of the first assailants re¬ 
quired that the central division should be brought for¬ 
ward, and these supporting regiments also moved in 
line against ramparts higher and more continuous than 
the barriers which had foiled the first efforts of their 
comrades. They too recoiled in confusion before the 
fire of the exulting Sikhs ; but at the distance of a fur¬ 
long they showed both their innate valor and habitual 
discipline by rallying and returning to the charge. 
Their second assault was aided on the left by the 
presence, in the trenches of that flank, of the victorious 
first division ; and thus the regiments of the centre 
likewise became, after a fierce struggle on their own 
right, possessed of as many of the enemy’s batteries as 
lay to their immediate front. The unlooked-for repulse 
of the second division, and the arduous contest in which 
the first was engaged, might have led a casual witness 
of the strife to ponder on the multitude of varying cir¬ 
cumstances which determine success in war; but the 
leaders were collected and prompt, and the battalions 
on the right, the victors of Aleewal, were impelled 
against the opposite flank of the Sikhs ; but there, as 
on all other points attacked, destruction awaited brave 
men. They fell in heaps, and the first line was thrown 
back upon the second, which, nothing daunted, moved 
rapidly to the assault. The two lines mingled their 
ranks and rushed forward in masses, just as the second 
division had retrieved its fame, and as a body of 
cavalry had been poured into the camp from the left to 
form that line of advance which surpassed the strength 
of the exhausted infantry. 

Openings were thus everywhere effected in the Sikh 
intrenchments, but single batteries still held out; the 
interior was filled with courageous men, who took ad¬ 
vantage of every obstacle, and fought fiercely for every 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 

spot of ground. The traitor, Tej Singh, indeed, instead 
of leading fresh men to sustain the failing strength of 
the troops on his right, fled on the first assault, and, 
either accidentally or by design, sank a boat in the mid¬ 
dle of the bridge of communication. But the ancient 
Sham Singh remembered his vow ; he clothed himself 
in simple white attire, as one devoted to death, and 
calling on all around him to fight for the Gooroo, who 
had promised everlasting bliss to the brave, he repeat¬ 
edly rallied his shattered ranks, and at last fell a martyr 
on a heap of his slain countrymen. Others might be 
seen standing on the ramparts amid showers of balls, 
waving defiance with their swords, or telling the gun¬ 
ners where the fair-haired English pressed thickest 
together. Along the stronger half of the battlements, 
and for the period of half an hour, the conflict raged 
sublime in all its terrors. The parapets were sprinkled 
with blood from end to end ; the trenches were filled 
with the dead and the dying. Amid the deafening roar 
of cannon, and the multitudinous fire of musketry, the 
shouts of triumph or of scorn were yet heard, and the 
flashing of innumerable swords was yet visible; or from 
time to time exploding magazines of powder threw 
bursting shells and beams of wood and banks of earth 
high above the agitated sea of smoke and flame which 
enveloped the host of combatants, and for a moment 
arrested the attention amid all the din and tumult of 
the tremendous conflict. But gradually each defensible 
position was captured, and the enemy was pressed to¬ 
wards the scarcely fordable river; yet, although assailed 
on either side by squadrons of horse and battalions of 
foot, no Sikh offered to submit, and no disciple of 
Govind asked for quarter. They everywhere showed 
a front to the victors, and stalked slowly and sullenly 
away, while many rushed singly forth to meet assured 
death by contending with a multitude. The victors 
looked with stolid wonderment upon the indomitable 
courage of the vanquished, and forbore to strike where 
the helpless and the dying frowned unavailing hatred. 


320 * 


THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. [Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. 


The pas¬ 
sage of the 
Sutlej, the 
submission 
of the 
Muhavaja, 
and the 
occupation 
of Lahore. 


But the necessities of war pressed upon the command¬ 
ers, and they had effectually to disperse that army 
which had so long scorned their power. The fire of 
batteries and battalions precipitated the flight of the 
Sikhs through the waters of the Sutlej, and the triumph 
of the English became full and manifest. The troops 
defiled with dust and smoke and carnage, thus stood 
mute indeed for a moment, until the glory of their 
success rushing upon their minds, they gave expression 
to their feelings, and hailed their victorious commanders 
with reiterated shouts of triumph and congratulation.* 
On the night of the victory some regiments were 
pushed across the Sutlej opposite Feerozpoor; no 
enemy was visible ; and on the 1.2th February the 
fort of Kussoor was occupied without opposition. On 
the following day the army encamped under the walls 
of that ancient town, and it was ascertained that the 
Sikhs still held together to the number of twenty thou¬ 
sand men in the direction of Amritsir. But the power 


* Compare Lord Gough’s de¬ 
spatch of the 13th February, 1846, 
and Mucyregor's History of the Sikhs, 
ii. 154, &c. The casualties on the 
side of the British were 320 killed, 
and 2,083 wounded. The loss of the 
Sikhs, perhaps, exceeded 5,000, and 
possibly amounted to 8,000, the lower 
estimate of the English despatches. 

The Commander-in-chief esti¬ 
mated the force of the Sikhs at 30,000 
men, and it was frequently said they 
had 36 regiments in position ; but it 
is nevertheless doubtful whether there 
were so many as 20,000 armed men 
in the trenches. The numbers of the 
actual assailants may be estimated at 
15,000 effective soldiers. [ After the 
war Lord Gough ascertained through 
the British authorities at Lahore, that 
the Sikhs admitted their strength at 
Subraon to have been 42,626 men. 
Perhaps, however, this estimate in¬ 
cludes all the troops on the right bank 
of the river, as well as those in the in¬ 
trenched position on the opposite side. 
If so, the statement seems in every 
way credible. Similarly Lord Gough 
learnt that 3,125 heirs of soldiers 


killed claimed arrears of pay, from 
which fact and other circumstances 
which came to his knowledge, his 
Lordship thinks the Sikhs may have 
lost from 12 to 15,000 men in this 
decisive victory.] 

Subraon, or correctly Subrahan, 
the name by which the battle is 
known, is taken from that of a small 
village, or rather two small villages, 
in the neighbourhood. The villages 
in question were inhabited by the 
subdivision of a tribe called Subrah, 
or, in the plural, Subrahan ; and hence 
the name became applied to their 
place of residence, and has at last 
become identified with a great and 
important victory. [This mode of de¬ 
signating villages by means of the 
plural form of a patronymic is com¬ 
mon in India, and it was once fre¬ 
quent in our own country, as noticed 
by Mr. Kemble ( Saxons in England, 
i. 59. note and appendix A. p.478.) 
in 1329 instances, such as Tooting in 
Surrey, Mailing in Kent, &c., from 
the Totingas, Meallingas, and other 
families or clans.] 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


321 


of the armed representatives of the Khalsa was gone ; 1845,1846. 

the holders of treasure and food, and all the munitions v - y - 

of war, had first passively helped to defeat them, and 
then openly joined the enemy ; and the soldiery readily 
assented to the requisition of the court that Golab Singh, 
their chosen minister, should have full powers to. treat 
with the English on the already admitted basis of re¬ 
cognizing a Sikh government in Lahore. On the 15th 
of the month the Raja and several other chiefs were 
received by the Governor-General at Kussoor, and they 
were told that Dhuleep Singh would continue to he 
regarded as a friendly sovereign, but that the country 
between the Beeas and Sutlej would be retained by the 
conquerors, and that a million and a half sterling must 
be paid as some indemnity for the expenses of the war, 
in order, it was said, that all might hear of the 
punishment which had overtaken aggressors, and be¬ 
come fully aware that inevitable loss followed vain 
hostilities with the unoffending English. After a long 
discussion the terms were reluctantly agreed to, the 
young Muharaja came and tendered his submission in 
person, and on the 20th February the British army 
arrived at the Sikh capital. Two days afterwards a 
portion of the citadel was garrisoned by English regi¬ 
ments, to mark more plainly to the Indian world that 
a vaunting enemy had been effectually humbled ; for 
throughout the breadth of the land the chiefs talked, in 
the bitterness of their hearts, of the approaching down¬ 
fall of the stern unharmonizing foreigners.* 

The Governor-General desired not only to chastise Negotia¬ 
te Sikhs for their past aggressions, but to overawe tlons * 
them for the future, and he had thus chosen the Beeas, 
as offering more commanding positions with reference 
to Lahore than the old boundary of the Sutlej. With 
the same object in view, he had originally thought Raja 
Golab Singh might advantageously be made independent singh. 

* Compare the Governor-General the 19th February, and 4th March, 
to the Secret Committee, under dates 1846. 

Y 


322 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. in the hills of Jummoo.* Such a recognition by the British 

v —-v -' government had, indeed, always been one of the wishes of 

that ambitious family; but it was not, perhaps, remem¬ 
bered that Golab Singh was still more desirous of be¬ 
coming the acknowledged minister of the dependent 
Punjab t; nor was it perhaps thought that the overtures 
of the Raja—after the battle of Aleewal had foreboded 
the total rout of the Sikh army—were all made in the 
hope of assuring to himself a virtual viceroyalty over 
the whole dominion of Lahore. Golab Singh had been 
appointed Vuzeer by the chiefs and people when danger 
pressed them, and he had been formally treated with as 
minister by the English when the Governor-General 
thought time was short, and his own resources dis- 
Lai Singh, tantt; but when Lai Singh saw that after four pitched 
battles the English viceroy was content or compelled to 
leave Lahore a dependent ally, he rejoiced that his un¬ 
diminished influence with the mother of the Muharaja 
would soon enable him to supplant the obnoxious chief 
of Jummoo. The base sycophant thus congratulated 
himself on the approaching success of all his treasons, 
which had simply for their object his own personal 
aggrandizement at the expense of Sikh independence. 


* Compare the Governor-General 
to the Secret Committee, of 3d and 
19th February, 1846. 

•j- This had been the aim of the 
family for many years; or, at least, 
from the time that Dhian Singh ex¬ 
erted himself to remove Colonel 
Wade, in the hope that a British re¬ 
presentative might be appointed who 
would be well disposed towards him¬ 
self, which he thought Colonel Wade 
was not. Mr. Clerk was aware of 
both schemes of the Lahore minister, 
although the greater prominence was 
naturally given to the project of ren¬ 
dering the Jummoo chiefs indepen¬ 
dent, owing to the aversion with which 
they were regarded after Nao Nilial 
Singh’s death. 

Had the English said that they 
desired to see Golab Singh remain 
minister, and had they been careless 


whether Lai Singh lived or was 
put to death, it is highly probable 
that a fair and vigorous government 
would have been formed, and also 
that the occupation of Lahore, and 
perhaps the second treaty of 1846, 
need never have taken place. 

| Compare the Governor-General’s 
letter to the Secret Committee, of the 
3d and 19th February, 1846. In 
both of these despatches Lord Har- 
dinge indicates that he intended to do 
something for Golab Singh, but he 
does not state that he designed to 
make him independent of Lahore, nor 
does he say that he told the Sikh 
Chiefs the arrangements then on foot 
might include the separation of Jum¬ 
moo ; and the truth would seem to 
be, that in the first joy of success the 
scheme of conciliating the powerful 
Raja remained in a manner forgotten. 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


323 


Golab Singh felt his inability to support himself without 1845,1846. 

the countenance of the English ; but they had offered ----- 

no assurance of support as minister, and he suddenly 
perplexed the Governor-General by asking what he 
was to get for all he had done to bring about a 
speedy peace, and to render the army an easy prey. 

It was remembered that at Kussoor he had said the 
way to carry on a war with the English was to leave 
the sturdy infantry intrenched and watched, and to 
sweep the open country with cavalry to the gates of 
Delhi; and while negotiations were still pending, and 
the season advancing, it was desired to conciliate one 
who might render himself formidable in a day, by join¬ 
ing the remains of the Sikh forces, and by opening his 
treasures and arsenals to a warlike population. 

The low state of the Lahore treasury, and the anxiety The par- 
of Lai Singh to get a dreaded rival out of the way, pj^fand 
enabled the Governor-General to appease Golab Singh indepen- 
in a manner sufficiently agreeable to the Raja himself, 
and which still further reduced the importance of the singh. 
successor of Runjeet Singh. The Raja of Jummoo did 
not care to be simply the master of his native moun¬ 
tains ; but as two thirds of the pecuniary indemnity 
required from Lahore could not be made good, territory 
was taken instead of money, and Cashmeer and the 
hill states from the Beeas to the Indus were cut off 
from the Punjab Proper, and transferred to Golab Singh 
as a separate sovereign for a million of pounds sterling. 

The arrangement was a dexterous one, if reference be 
only had to the policy of reducing the power of the 
Sikhs ; but the transaction scarcely seems worthy of 
the British name and greatness, and the objections 
become stronger when it is considered that Golab 
Singh had agreed to pay sixty-eight lakhs of rupees 
(680,000/.), as a fine to his paramount, before the war 
broke out*, and that the custom of the East as well as 

* Major Broadfoot to Govern- that this money was paid by Golab 
ment, 5th May, 1845. The author Singh, 
never heard, and does not believe, 

y 2 


324 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845, 1846. 


Supple¬ 
mentary 
arrange¬ 
ments of 
1846, 


of the West requires the feudatory to aid his lord in 
foreign war and domestic strife. Golab Singh ought 
thus to have paid the deficient million of money as a 
Lahore subject, instead of being put in possession of 
Lahore provinces as an independent prince. The suc¬ 
cession of the Raja was displeasing to the Sikhs gene¬ 
rally, and his separation was less in accordance with 
his own aspirations than the ministry of Runjeet Singes 
empire; but his rise to sovereign power excited never¬ 
theless the ambition of others, and Tej Singh, who 
knew his own wealth, and was fully persuaded of the 
potency of gold, offered twenty-five lakhs of rupees for 
a princely crown and another dismembered province. 
He was chid for his presumptuous misinterpretation 
of English principles of action ; the arrangement with 
Golab Singh was the only one of the kind which took 
place, and the new ally was formally invested with the 
title of Muharajaat Amritsir on the 15th March, 1846.* 
But a portion of the territory at first proposed to he 
made over to him was reserved by his masters, the 
payments required from him were reduced by a fourth, 
and they were rendered still more easy of liquidation 
by considering him to be the heir to the money which 
his brother Soochet Singh had buried in Feerozpoor.t 
Lai Singh became minister once more; but he and 
all the traitorous chiefs knew that they could not main¬ 
tain themselves, even against the reduced army, when 


* On this occasion “Muharaja” 
Golab Singh stood up, and with joined 
hands, expressed his gratitude to the 
British viceroy, — adding, without 
however any ironical meaning, that 
he was indeed his “ Zur-khureed,” or 
gold-boughten slave! 

In the course of this history there 
has, more than once, been occasion to 
allude to the unscrupulous character 
of Raja Golab Singh ; but it must 
not therefore be supposed that he is 
a man malevolently evil. He will, 
indeed, deceive an enemy and take 
his life without hesitation, and in 


the accumulation of money he will 
exercise many oppressions; but he 
must be judged with reference to the 
morality of his age and race, and to 
the necessities of his own position. 
If these allowances be made, Golab 
Singh will be found an able and mo¬ 
derate man, who does little in an idle 
or wanton spirit, and who is not with¬ 
out some traits both of good humor 
and generosity of temper. 

f See Appendices XXXIV. 
XXXV. and XXXVI., for the trea¬ 
ties with Lahore and Jummoo. 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 


325 


the English should have fairly left the country, and 1 845,1846. 
thus the separation of Golab Singh led to a further 
departure from the original scheme. It was agreed Dhuieep 
that a British force should remain at the capital until 
the last day of December 1846, to enable the chiefs tutelage 
to feel secure while they reorganized the army and d “ rin ? his 
introduced order and efficiency into the administration. 

The end of the year came; but the chiefs were still 
helpless; they clung to their foreign support, and 
gladly assented to an arrangement which leaves the 
English in immediate possession of the reduced domi¬ 
nion of Runjeet Singh, until his reputed son and feeble 
successor shall attain the age of manhood.* 

While the Governor-General and Commander-in-chief The Sikhs 
remained at Lahore at the head of twenty thousand heartened 
men, portions of the Sikh army came to the capital to by their 
be paid up and disbanded. The soldiers showed nei- reverses - 
ther the despondency of mutinous rebels nor the ef¬ 
frontery and indifference of mercenaries, and their 
manly deportment added lustre to that valor which 
the victors had dearly felt and generously extolled. 

The men talked of their defeat as the chance of war, 
or they would say that they were mere imitators of 
unapproachable masters. But, amid all their humilia¬ 
tion, they inwardly dwelt upon their future destiny 
with unabated confidence; and while gaily calling 
themselves inapt and youthful scholars, they would 
sometimes add, with a significant and sardonic smile, 
that the “Khalsa” itself was yet a child, and that as 
the commonwealth of Sikhs grew in stature, Govind 
would clothe his disciples with irresistible might and 
guide them with unequalled skill. Thus brave men 
sought consolation, and the spirit of progress which 
collectively animated them yielded with a murmur to 
the superior genius of England and civilization, to be 
chastened by the rough hand of power, and perhaps 


See Appendix XXXVII., for the second treaty with Lahore. 


326 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. to be moulded to noblest purposes by the informing 
toucli of knowledge and philosophy.* 


Conclusion. 
— The po¬ 
sition of the 
English in 
India. 


The separate sway of the Sikhs and the independence 
of the Punjab have come to an end, and England reigns 
the undisputed mistress of the broad and classic land 
of India. Her political supremacy is more regular and 
systematic than the antique rule of the Brahmins and 
Kshutrees, and it is less assailable from without than 
the imperfect domination of the Mahometans ; for in 
disciplined power and vastness of resources, in unity 
of action and intelligence of design, her government 
surpasses the experience of the East, and emulates the 
magnificent prototype of Rome. But the Hindoos 
made the country wholly their own, and from sea to 
sea, from the snowy mountains almost to the fabled 
bridge of Rama, the language of the peasant is still 
that of the twice-born races ; the speech of the wild 
foresters and mountaineers of the centre and south has 
been permanently tinged by the old predominance of 
the Kshutrees, and the hopes and fears and daily habits 
of myriads of men still vividly represent the genial 
myths and deep philosophy of the Brahmins, which 
more than two thousand years ago arrested the atten¬ 
tion of the Greeks. The Mahometans entered the 
country to destroy, but they remained to colonize, and 
swarms of the victorious races long continued to pour 
themselves over its rich plains, modifying the language 
and ideas of the vanquished, and becoming themselves 
altered by the contact, until, in the time of Akber, the 


* In March, 1846, or immediately 
after the war, the author visited the 
Sikh temples and establishments at 
Keeritpoor and Anundpoor-Makho- 
wal. At the latter place, the chosen 
seat of Govind, reliance upon the 
future was likewise strong ; and the 
grave priests or ministers said, by way 
of assurance, that the pure faith of the 


Khalsa was intended for all countries 
and times; and added, by way of 
compliment, that the disciples of 
Nanuk would ever be grateful lor 
the aid, which the stranger English 
had rendered in subverting the em¬ 
pire of the intolerant and oppressive 
Mahometans! 



Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 

“ Islam” of India was a national system, and until, in 
the present day, the Hindoo and Mahometan do not 
practically differ more from one another than did the 
Brahmins and Kshutrees and Veisyas of the time of 
Munnoo and Alexander. They are different races with 
different religious systems, but harmonizing together 
in social life, and mutually understanding and respecting 
and taking a part in each other’s modes and ways and 
doings. They are thus silently but surely removing 
one another’s differences and peculiarities, so that a 
new element results from the common destruction, to 
become developed into a faith or a fact in future ages. 
The rise to power of contemned Soodra tribes, in the 
persons of Mahrattas, Goorkhas, and Sikhs, has brought 
about a further mixture of the rural population and of 
the lower orders in towns and cities, and has thus given 
another blow to the reverence for antiquity. The re¬ 
ligious creed of the people seems to be even more inde¬ 
terminate than their spoken dialects, and neither the 
religion of the Arabian prophet, nor the theology of 
the Veds and Poorans, is to be found pure except 
among professed Moollas and educated Brahmins, or 
among the rich and great of either persuasion. Over 
this seething and fusing mass, the power of England 
has been extended and her spirit sits brooding. Her 
pre-eminence in the modern world may well excite the 
envy of the nations ; but it behoves her to ponder well 
upon the mighty task which her adventurous children 
have set her in the East, and to be certain that her 
sympathizing labors in the cause of humanity are 
guided by intelligence towards a true and attainable 
end. She rules supreme as the welcome composer of 
political troubles ; but the thin superficies of her domi¬ 
nion rests tremblingly upon the convulsed ocean of 
social change and mental revolution. Her own high 
civilization and the circumstances of her intervention 
isolate her in all her greatness; she can appeal to the 
reason only of her subjects, and can never lean upon 


528 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. the enthusiasm of their gratitude or predilections.* To 
- > * preserve her political ascendancy she must be ever pru¬ 

dent and circumspect; and to leave a lasting impress 
she must do more than erect palaces and temples, the 
mere material monuments of dominion. Like Greece 
and Rome, she may rear edifices of surpassing beauty, 
she may bridge gulphs and pierce mountains with the 
wand of wealth and science. Like these ancient peoples, 
she may even give birth in strange lands to such kings 
as Herod the Great and to such historians as Flavius 
Josephus; but, like imperial Rome, she may live to 
behold a Vortigern call in a Hengist, and a Syagrius 
yield to a Clovis. She may teach another Cymbeline 
the amenities of civilized life, and she may move 
another Attalus to bequeath to her another Pergamus. 
These are tasks of easy achievement; but she must 
also endeavor to give her poets and her sages an 
immortality among nations unborn, to introduce laws 
which shall still be in force at the end of sixty genera¬ 
tions, and to tinge the faith and the minds of the people 
with her sober science and just morality, as Christianity 
was affected by the adoptive policy of Rome and by 
the plastic philosophy of Greece. Of all these things 
England must sow the seeds and lay the foundations 
before she can hope to equal or surpass her great 
exemplars, t 


* [Mr. Macaulay’s comparison ( His¬ 
tory of England, i. 364, &c.) between 
the manners of the earlier Georges 
and Charles II., as bearing on the 
kingly office, is peculiarly applicable 
to the British rule in India. The 
English, like their own stranger so¬ 
vereigns of the last century, govern 
in the East according to law, but 
they cannot give themselves a place 
in the hearts of their subjects, while 
those whom reason can convince are 
neither numerous nor influential in 
political affairs. Sir H. M. Elliot, 
in the introduction (p. xxix.) to his 
important and interesting volume on 
the Mahometan Historians of India, 


admits “ the many defects inherent 
in a system of foreign administration, 
in which language, color, religion, 
customs, and laws preclude all natu¬ 
ral sympathy between sovereign and 
subject; ” but he at the same time 
declares the English have, neverthe¬ 
less, done more in fifty years for the 
substantial benefit of the people, at 
least of Upper India, than the Mus¬ 
sulmans did in ten times that period, 
— an opinion that requires to be sup¬ 
ported by a more extended compari¬ 
son of material works than is given 
by the learned writer.] 
f See Appendix XV. 


Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 

But England can do nothing until she has rendered 
her dominion secure, and hitherto all her thoughts have 
been given to the extension of her supremacy. Up to 
this time she has been a rising power, the welcome 
supplanter of Moghuls and Mahrattas, and the ally 
which the remote weak sought against the neighboring 
strong. But her greatness is at its height; it has come 
to her turn to be feared instead of courted, and the 
hopes of men are about to be built on her wished*for 
destruction. The princes of India can no longer ac¬ 
quire fame or territory by preying upon one another. 
Under the exact sway of their new paramount, they 
must divest themselves of ambition and of all the violent 
passions of their nature, and they must try to remain 
kings without exercising the most loved of the functions 
of rulers. The Indians, indeed, will themselves politely 
liken England and her dependent sovereigns to the 
benignant moon accompanied by hosts of rejoicing stars 
in her nightly progress, rather than to the fierce sun 
which rides the heavens in solitude scarcely visible 
amidst intolerable brightness ; but men covet power 
as well as ease, and crave distinction as well as wealth ; 
and thus it is with those who endeavor to jest with 
adversity. England has immediately to make her at¬ 
tendant princes feel, that while resistance is vain, they 
are themselves honored, and hold a substantive position in 
the economy of the imperial government, instead of being 
merely tolerated as bad rulers or regarded with contempt 
and aversion as half-barbarous men. Her rule has hitherto 
mainly tended to the benefit of the trading community; 
men of family name find no place in the society of their 
masters, and no employment in the service of the state ; 
and while the peasants have been freed from occasional 
ruinous exaction, and from more rare personal torture, 
they are oppressed and impoverished by a well-meant but 
cumbrous and inefficient law*, and by an excessive and 


* The police of India is notori- even the useful establishments for 
ously corrupt and oppressive; and tracing Thugs and Dakoits, or banded 


33 0 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. 


partial taxation, which looks almost wholly to the land 
for the necessary revenue of a government.* The 
husbandman is sullen and indifferent t, the gentleman 
nurses his wrath in secrecy, kings idly chafe and in¬ 
trigue, and all are ready to hope for everything from 
a change of masters. The merchant alone sits partly 
happy in the reflection, that if he is not honored with 
titles and office, the path to wealth has been made 
smooth, and its enjoyment rendered secure. 

Princes and nobles and yeomen can all be kept in 
obedience for generations by overwhelming means, and 
by a more complete military system than at present 


assassins and confederate robbers, may 
before long become as great an evil 
in one way as the gangs of criminals 
they are breaking up are in another. 
The British rule is most defective in 
the prevention and detection of crime; 
and while supremely powerful in mi¬ 
litary means, the government is com¬ 
paratively valueless as the guardian 
of the private property of its citizens. 
Thus a feeling of insecurity arises, 
which gives birth to a want of confi¬ 
dence, and will finally lead to an ac¬ 
tive desire for a change of masters. 
England has identified herself so little 
with the people of India, that she 
leans solely on hireling agency, and 
trusts the preservation of internal 
order to men who fear her, indeed, 
but who hate her at the same time, 
and can deceive her with ease and 
impunity. The people themselves, 
as well as the mass of paid servants, 
have yet to be enlisted in the cause of 
justice and order; and some middle 
class landholders should have powers 
of committal, while others should 
form juries or punchayets within their 
“pergunnehs ” and “ zillahs,” or hun¬ 
dreds and shires. Within such limits 
the zemindars of India are as much 
alive to public opinion as the land¬ 
holders of other countries. (For some 
apposite remarks on the subject, see 
Lieut.-Colonel Sleeman’s Rambles 
and Recollections of an Indian Official, 
ii. 313, &c.) 

* See Appendix XVI. 


f Lieutenant-Colonel Sleeman con¬ 
siders (Rambles of an Indian Of¬ 
ficial , ii. 175.) that neither have the 
English gained, nor did other rulers 
possess, the good-will of the peasantry 
and landholders of the country. 

In considering the position of the 
English, or of any ruling power, in 
India, it should always be borne in 
mind that no bodies of peasantry, ex¬ 
cepting perhaps the Sikhs, and, in a 
lesser degree, the Rajpoots of the 
West, and no classes of men, ex¬ 
cepting perhaps the Mahometans, and, 
in a lesser degree, the Brahmins, take 
any interest in the government of 
their country, or have collectively 
any wish to be dominant. The masses 
of the population, whether of towns or 
villages, are ready to submit to any 
master, native or foreign ; and the 
multitudes of submissive subjects pos¬ 
sessed by England, contribute nothing 
to her strength except as tax-payers, 
and, during an insurrection or after a 
conquest, would at once give the 
“ government share of the produce ” 
to the wielder of power for the time 
being, and would thereby consider 
themselves freed from all obligations 
and liabilities. England must be just 
and generous towards these tame my¬ 
riads ; but the men whom she has 
pre-eminently to keep employed, ho¬ 
nored, and overawed, are the turbulent 
military classes, who are ever ready to 
rebel and ever desirous of acquiring 
power. 



Chap. IX.] CONCLUSION I THE ENGLISH IN INDIA. 


331 


obtains. Numerous forts and citadels*, the occasional 1845 , 1846 . 

assemblage of armies, and the formation of regiments v Y -- 

separately composed of different tribes and racest, will 
long serve to ensure supremacy and to crush the efforts 
of individuals ; but England has carefully to watch the 
progress of that change in social relations and religious 
feelings of which Sikhism is the most marked exponent. 

Among all ranks of men there is a spirit at work which 
rejects as vain the ancient forms and ideas whether of 
Brahminism or Mahometanism J, and which clings for 


* The fewness of places of strength, 
and indeed of places of ordinary se¬ 
curity, for magazines of arms and 
ammunition, is a radical defect in the 
military system of the English in 
India. The want of extensive gra¬ 
naries is also much felt, both as a 
measure of the most ordinary pru¬ 
dence in case of insurrection or any 
military operation ; and as some 
check upon prices on the common 
recurrence of droughts in a country 
in which capitalists do not yet go 
hand in hand with the government, 
and are but little amenable to public 
opinion beyond their order. Such 
was, and is, the custom of the native 
princes, and no practice exists with¬ 
out a reason, 

f The English have not succeeded 
in making their well ordered army 
a separate caste or section of the 
community, except very partially in 
the Madras presidency, where a Se¬ 
poy’s home is his regiment. It is 
moreover but too apparent that the 
active military spirit of the Sepoys, 
when on service in India, is not now 
what it was when the system of the 
“ Company ” was new and the for¬ 
tune of the Strangers beginning. This 
is partly due to the general paci¬ 
fication of the country, partly to the 
practice of largely enlisting tame- 
spirited men of inferior caste because 
they are well behaved, or pliant in¬ 
triguing Brahmins because they can 
write and are intelligent; and partly 
because the system of central or ra¬ 
ther single management has been 
carried too far. The Indian is emi¬ 


nently a partizan,and his predilection 
for his immediate superior should be 
encouraged, the more especially as 
there can be no doubt of the loyalty 
of the English commandant. The 
clannish, or feudal, or mercenary, at¬ 
tachments do not in India yield to 
rational conviction or political prin¬ 
ciple, and colonels of battalions 
should have very large powers. Re¬ 
giments separately composed of men 
of one or other of the military classes 
might sometimes give trouble within 
themselves, and sometimes come into 
collision with other regiments; but a 
high warlike feeling would be en¬ 
gendered; and unless England chooses 
to identify herself with some of the 
inferior races, and to evoke a new 
spirit by becoming a religious re¬ 
former, she must keep the empire 
she has won by working upon the 
feelings she finds prevalent in the 
country. 

] [The following remark of the 
Hindoos, regarding some of their 
most sacred persons, has now a wider 
application than smart sayings com¬ 
monly possess. They describe Purs- 
Ram, Vyasa, Rama, and Krishna, as 
“ Sirree, Siftee, Dana, and Deew- 
ana,”— or Purs-Ram as hasty, heed¬ 
less; because, for the fault of one 
ruler, he proceeded to slay a whole 
generation of men: — Vyasa, as 
wordy, or a flatterer; because he 
would make all to resemble gods ; — 
Rama, alone, as wise, or politic ; be¬ 
cause all his actions denoted fore¬ 
thought; and Krishna, as eminently 
silly or trivial; because all he did was 



33 % 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Chap. IX. 


1845,1846. present solace and future happiness to new intercessors 

v -v-' and to another manifestation of divine power and 

mercy. This laboring- spirit has developed itself most 
strongly on the confines of the two antagonist creeds ; 
but the feeling pervades the Indian world, and the ex¬ 
tension of Sikh arms would speedily lead to the recog¬ 
nition of Nanuk and Govind as the long looked-for 
Comforters.* The Sikhs have now been struck by the 
petrific hand of material power, and the ascendancy of 
a third race has everywhere infused new ideas, and 
modified the aspirations of the people. The confusion 
has thus been increased for a time ; but the pregnant 
fermentation of mind must eventually body itself forth 
in new shapes; and a prophet of name unknown may 
arise to diffuse a system which shall consign the Veds 
and Koran to the oblivion of the Zendavest and the 
Sibylline Leaves, and which may not perhaps absorb 
one ray of light from the wisdom and morality of that 
faith which adorns the civilization of the Christian rulers 
of the country. But England must hope that she is 
not to exercise an unfruitful sway ; and she will add 
fresh lustre to her renown, and derive an additional 
claim to the gratitude of posterity, if she can seize 
upon the essential principles of that element which dis¬ 
turbs her multitudes of Indian subjects, and imbue the 
mental agitation with new qualities of beneficent fer¬ 
tility, so as to give to it an impulse and a direction, 
which shall surely lead to the prevalence of a religion 
of truth and to the adoption of a government of freedom 
and progress. 


of that character. That names still 
revered are sometimes so treated, de¬ 
notes a readiness for change.] 

* [Widely spread notions, how er¬ 
roneous soever they be, in one sense, 
always deserve attention, as based on 
some truth or conviction. Thus the 
Hindoos quote an altered or spurious 
passage of the Bhagavut, describing 


the successive rulers of India as fol¬ 
lows : — 1st. The Yavvans (Greeks), 
eight kings. 2d. The Tooshkurs 
(Turks or Mahometans), fourteen 
kings. 3d. The Goorund (the/air, 
t. e. the English), ten kings; and 4th. 
The Mowna (or silent, i.e. the dis¬ 
ciples of Nanuk the Seer), eleven 
kings.] 


ADDITIONAL NOTES. 


333 


ADDITIONAL NOTES AND CORRECTIONS. 


P. 9., after the words “ The people of Cashmere,” add: — 
“ The Author learns from his brother. Major A. Cunning¬ 
ham, who has twice visited Cashmere, that the Mahometans 
of that valley are nearly all Sheea,” instead of Soonea, as 
stated in the text. 

P. 13., to note *, add, in continuation: — 

“ Colonel Kennedy {Res. Hind. Mythol ., p. 141.) states that 
the Brahmins think little of the Christian missionaries (as 
propagandists), although the English have held authority in 
India for several generations.” 

P. 20., to note §, add, before the sentence beginning ff Of 
the modern faiths: ” — 

“ The whole subject, however, is complicated in the ex¬ 
treme ; and it is rendered the more so by the probability 
that the same Gowtum is the author of the popular f Nyaya’ 
system of Philosophy, and that Boodha himself is one form 
of the favourite divinity Vishnoo; although the orthodox 
explain that circumstance by saying the Preserving Power 
assumed an heretical character to delude Deodas, king of 
Benares, who by his virtues and authority endangered the 
supremacy of the Gods. (Compare Kennedy, Res. Hind. 
Mythol ., p. 248., &c.)” 

P. 20., a new note, at the words “ direction of the con¬ 
science” (end of the 1st chapter): — 

“ fThe recent spread of the “ Marwaree” traders over the 
centre, and to the south and east of India, may also be no- 



334 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


ticed, for the greater number of them are Jeins. These traf¬ 
fickers of Rajpootana seem to have received a strong mercantile 
impulse about a hundred years ago, and their spirit of enter¬ 
prise gives them at the same time a social and a religious 
influence, so that many families of Vaishnuvee or Brahminical 
traders either incline to Jeinism, or openly embrace that faith. 
Jeinism is thus extending in India, and conversion is ren¬ 
dered the more easy by the similarity of origin and occupation 
of these various traders, and by the Quietism and other cha¬ 
racteristics common to the Jeins and Vaishnuvees. 

P. 22., to note f, after the words “with the ordinary 
mythology,” add: — 

“ Yet the unity of the Godhead was the doctrine of the 
obscure Orpheus, of Plato the transcendentalist, and of such 

practical men as Cicero and Socrates,-and these,” and 

“ unless modern criticism,” &c. &c., as printed. 

P. 23., in note *, after the words “ of a compulsory prin¬ 
ciple,” add: — 

“ Nevertheless, Socrates, as represented by Xenophon , may 
be considered to have held Worship of the Gods to be a Duty 
of Man. (See the Memorabilia , b. iv. c. iii. iv. vi. & vii.)” 

P. 23., at end of note f, add, as a reference: — 

“ See also note IT, p. 41.” 

P. 23., at note on the words of the text, “ bodily aus¬ 
terities and mental abstraction:”— 

“ Socrates, who inculcated every active virtue, nevertheless 
admitted, ‘ that he who wanted least was nearest to the Divi¬ 
nity ; for to need nothing was the attribute of God.’ (Memo¬ 
rabilia, b. 1. c. vi. s. 10.)” 

P. 24., to note *, about the modern Jeins, add, in con¬ 
tinuation : — 

“ (See Colonel Kennedy, Res. Hind. Mythol., p. 243— 
250.) Ummer Singh, the author of the Sanscrit ( Kosh,’ or 
vocabulary, was himself a Boodhist; and he is differently 
stated to have flourished in the first century before, or in the 



ADDITIONAL NOTES. 


335 


fifth after, Christ (Col. Kennedy, as above , p. 127, 128.) 
but in Malwa he is traditionally said to have been confuted 
in argument by Shunkur Acharj, which would place him in 
the eighth or ninth century of our era. 

P. 24., at the end of note {, add : — 

“ and Colonel Kennedy ( Res. Hind. Mythol. , p. 284. 308.), 
who distinctly says the Lingam and Youi are not held to 
be typical of the destructive and reproductive powers; and 
that there is nothing in the Poorans to sanction such an 
opinion.” 

P. 25., to note f, add, in continuation: — 

“ and of the eighteen Poorans, five only give supremacy to 
one form of Divinity over others. (Colonel Kennedy, Res. 
Hind. Mythol ., p. 203, 204.)” 

P. 25., to note :f, add, in continuation: — 

“ Colonel Kennedy, in his valuable Researches,’ takes no 
notice of the modern reformers: and he even says that the 
Hindoo religion has remained unchanged for three thousand 
years (p. 192, &c.); meaning, however, it would seem, that 
the Unity of the Godhead is still the doctrine of Philosophy, 
and that Brahma, Yishnoo, and Siva are still the principal 
divinities of Polytheism.” 

P. 32., to note *, add : — 

“ Colonel Kennedy (Res. Hind. Mythol. , p. 130. 153, &c.) 
regards them mainly as complimentary to the Yeds, explain¬ 
ing religious and moral doctrines, and containing disquisitions 
concerning the illusive nature of the universe, and not as in 
any way intended to be historical.” 

P. 32., to note f, add : — 

“ The same is declared by the Siva Pooran. (Colonel Ken¬ 
nedy, Res. Hind. Mythol ., p. 309. note.)” 

P. 43., to note f, add: — 

“ It is curious that the Greeks and Romans believed the 
life of the ox to have been held sacred during the golden age ; 


336 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


and Cicero quotes Aratus, to show that it was only during 
the iron age the flesh of cattle began to be eaten. (On the 
Nature of the Gods. Francklin’s Trans., p. 154.)” 

P. 45., to note *, add : — 

“ Unggud, however, is an old Hindoo name ; and the am¬ 
bassador of Rama to Ravun was so called. (Kennedy, Res. 
Hind. Mythol., p. 438.)” 

P. 58., to note *, add : — 

“ Cicero seems to have almost as high an opinion of the 
functions of conscience. It points out to us, he says, without 
Divine assistance, the difference between virtue and vice. 
(Nature of the Gods. Francklin’s Trans., p. 213.)” 

P. 180., in continuation of note *, about Sikh government, 
after the present concluding words “noticed by Forster 
( Travels , ii. 26. &c.) ” 

“ The ancestors of the numerous families of Cashmeeree 
Brahmins, now settled in Delhi, Lucknow, &c., were like¬ 
wise refugees from Afghan oppression; and it is curious that 
the consolidation of Runjeet Singh’s power should have in¬ 
duced several of these families to repair to the Punjab, and 
even to return to their original country. This, notwith¬ 
standing the Hindooism of the Sikh faith, is still somewhat 
in favour of Sikh rule.” 

P. 190., to note f, add a paragraph as follows : — 

“ As an instance of the effect of the teaching of Syed 
Ahmed and others, coupled with the perusal of the translated 
Koran, it is often mentioned that the very tailors of Delhi 
were thereby moved to return remnants and cuttings of cloth 
to their employers. The printed Oordoo Korans are eagerly 
bought by all who can afford the money, and who know of 
their existence.” 

Additional paragraph to Appendix IV., about Caste in 
India. 

“ Mr. Hodgson (Aborigines of India , p. 144.), shows that 
the Kocch princes of Assam were admitted to be Rajpoots on 


ADDITIONAL NOTES. 


337 


embracing Hindooism, although they are of the Tamul and 
not of the Arya race; but even the Jews were not altogether 
inflexible in former times, and Bossuet notices the conversion 
of the Idumaeans and Philistines, and sees their change of 
faith foretold by the prophets. (Universal History, Trans¬ 
lation of 1810, p. 142 and 154.) 


Z 



























































































































































APPENDICES. 































































* 










































































T> H I 


APPENDICES. 


APPENDIX I. 

THE JUTS AND ji.TS OF UPPER INDIA. 

According to the dictionaries, Jdt means a race, a tribe, or 
a particular race so called, while Jut means manner, kind, 
and likewise matted hair. But throughout the Punjab Jut 
also implies a fleece, a fell of hair; and in Upper Sindh a 
Jut now means a rearer of camels or of black cattle, or a 
shepherd in opposition to a husbandman. In the Punjab 
generally a Jut means still a villager, a rustic par excellence , 
as one of the race by far the most numerous, and as opposed 
to one engaged in trade or handicraft. This was observed by 
the author of the Dabistan nearly two centuries ago ( Da- 
bistan, ii. 252.); but since the Juts of Lahore and the Jats of 
the Jumna have acquired power, the term is becoming more 
restricted, and is occasionally employed to mean simply one 
of that particular race. 

The Juts merge on one side into the Rajpoots, and on the 
other into the Afghans, the names of the Jut subdivisions 
being the same with those of Rajpoots in the east, and again 
with those of Afghans, and even Belotches, in the west, and 
many obscure tribes being able to show plausibly that at least 
they are as likely to be Rajpoots or Afghans as to be Juts. 
The Juts are indeed enumerated among the arbitrary or con¬ 
ventional thirty-six royal races of the local bards of Rajpoo- 
tana (Tod’s Rajasthan , i. 106.), and they themselves claim 
affinity with the Bhuttees, and aspire to a lunar origin, as is 

z 3 



342 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Arp. II. 


done by the Raja of Putteeala. As instances of the narrow 
and confused state of our knowledge regarding the people of 
India, it may be mentioned that the Birks (or Yirks), one of 
the most distinguished tribes of Juts, is admitted among the 
Chalook Rajpoots by Tod (i. 100.), and that there are Kukker 
and Kakur Juts, Kukker Kokur , and Kakur Afghans, besides 
Gukkers , not included in any of the three races. Further 
the family of Oomerkot in Sindh is stated by Tod (. Rajasthan , 
i. 92, 93.) to be Pramar (or Powar), while the Emperor 
Humayoon’s chronicler talks of the followers (i. e. brethren) 
of that chief as being Juts. ( Memoirs of Humayoon, p. 45.) 
The editors of the Journal of the Geographical Society (xiv. 
207, note ) derive Jut from the Sanscrit Jyesfha , old, ancient, 
and so make the term equivalent to aborigines ; but this ety¬ 
mology perhaps too hastily sets aside the sufficiently esta¬ 
blished facts of Getse and Yuechi emigrations, and the cir¬ 
cumstance of Tymoor’s warfare with Jettehs in Central Asia. 

Some of the most eminent of the Jut subdivisions in the 
Punjab are named Sindhoo, Cheeneh, Yuraitch, Chuttheh, 
Sidhoo, Kurreeal, Gondul, &c. &c. For some notices of the 
Juts of the Indus by early Mahometan writers (about 977 
and 1100 A.D.), see Sir H. M. Elliot’s Historians of India , 
pp. 69. and 270. 


APPENDIX II. 

PROPORTIONS OF RACES AND FAITHS : POPULATION OF 
INDIA. 

Out of 1030 villages lying here and there between the 
Jumna and Sutlej, and which were under British manage¬ 
ment in 1844, there were found to be forty-one different 
tribes of agriculturists , in proportions as follows, after adding 
up fractions where any race composed a portion only of the 
whole community of any one village. 



Apr. II.] RACES, EAITII, AND POPULATION OF INDIA. 343 


Juts 

_ 

. 


Villages. 

- 443 

Rajpoots 

- 

- 

- 

- 194 

Goojers 

- 

- 

- 

- 109 

Syeds 

- 

- 

- 

- 17 

Shekhs 

- 

- 

_ 

- 25 

Puthans 

- 

_ 

_ 

8 

Moghuls 

- 

.. 

_ 

5 

Brahmins 

- 

_ 

_ 

- 28 

Kshutrees 

- 

_ 

_ 

6 

Raiens (or Araiens) 

- 

- 

- 

- 47 

Kumbos 

- 

- 

- 

- 19 

Malees 

- 

- 

- 

- 12 

Rors 

- 

- 

_ 

- 33 

Doghurs (Mahometans claiming Kshutrec 

origin) 

- 28 

Kulalls 

- 

- 

- 

5 

Gosayen religionists 

- 

- 

- 

3 

Bairaghee do. 

- 

- 

- 

2 

24 miscellaneous tribes 

occupying equal to 

- 

- 46 


Total 1,030 


A classification of the tribes of India according to position, 
origin, and faith is much wanted, and is indeed necessary to a 
proper comprehension of the history of the country. The 
Revenue Survey, as conducted in the upper provinces of the 
Ganges, enumerates several castes, or at least the predo¬ 
minant ones, in each village, and the lists might easily be 
rendered more - complete, and afterwards made available by 
publication for purposes of inquiry and deduction. 

The Sikh population of the Punjab and adjoining districts 
has usually been estimated at 500,000 souls in all (compare 
Burnes, Travels , i. 289. and Elphinstone, History of India , 
ii. 275, note ); but the number seems too small by a half or a 
third. There are, indeed, no exact data on which to found 
an opinion; but the Sikh armies have never been held to 
contain fewer than 70,000 fighting men, they have been 
given as high as 250,000, and there is no reason to doubt 
that between the Jehlum and Jumna they could muster 
nearly half the latter number of soldiers of their own faith, 




344 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. II. 


while it is certain that of an agricultural people no member 
of some families may engage in arms, and that one adult at 
least of other families will always remain behind to till the 
ground. The gross Sikh population may probably be con¬ 
sidered to amount to a million and a quarter or a million and 
a half of souls, men, women, and children. 

The proportion of Hindoos to Mahometans throughout 
India generally has been variously estimated. The Emperor 
Jehangheer ( Memoirs , p. 29.) held them to be as five to one, 
which is perhaps more unequal than the present proportion 
in the valley of the Ganges. Mr. Elphinstone (History of 
India, ii. 238. and notes') takes the relative numbers for the 
whole country to be eight to one. [From p. 169. of the 
“ Statistics of the N. W. Provinces,” printed in 1848, and 
published in 1849 by the Indian Government, it appears that 
out of a population of 23,199,668 dwelling between Ghazee- 
poor and Hurdwar, and in the direct or active occupation of 
about 72,000 square miles of country, there are 19,452,646 
Hindoos and 3,747,022 Mahometans, “ and others not Hin¬ 
doos”— the others forming, doubtless, a fraction so small that 
they may be here disregarded. 

This gives somewhat more than five Hindoos to one Ma¬ 
hometan, and so differs but little from the estimate of the 
Emperor Jehangheer above quoted, and which probably had 
reference to the same tract of country. The revenue of the 
Upper Provinces amounts to about £4,700,000, which gives 
a taxation of about five shillings a head. Throughout India 
the state of industry and the system of revenue is nearly the 
same; and taking the gross income of the whole country at 
40 millions sterling (22 British and 18 native princes), it 
will result that the population amounts to 200 millions in all, 
or double what it is commonly believed to be. The calcula¬ 
tion, however, is borne out by the analogous condition of 
affairs in Germany. In Prussia the taxation is about 11 
shillings a head, and the proportion seems to hold good in the 
other component states of the empire.] 


Apr. III.] THE KSHUTREES AND URORAS OF PUNJAB. 345 


APPENDIX III. 

THE KSHUTREES AND URORAS OF THE PUNJAB. 

The Kshutrees of the Punjab maintain the purity of their 
descent, and the legend is that they represent those of the 
warrior race who yielded to Purs Ram and were spared by 
him. The tribe is numerous in the Upper Punjab, and about 
Delhi and Hurd war. Kshutrees are found in towns along the 
Ganges as far as Denares and Patna; but in Bengal, in Cen¬ 
tral India, and in the Deccan they seem to be strangers, or 
only to be represented by ruling families claiming a solar or 
lunar origin. In the Punjab the religious capital of the 
Kshutrees seems to be the ancient Depalpoor. The Kshutrees 
divide themselves into three principal classes: I. the Char- 
jatees, or the four clans; II. the Barajatees, or the twelve 
clans; and III. the Bawunjaees, or fifty-two clans. The 
Chdrjatees are 1st, the Seths; 2d, the Merhotas; 3d, the 
Khunnas; and 4th, the Kuppoors, who are again divided, 
the first into two, and the others into three classes. The 
principal of the Barajatee subdivisions are Chopra, Talwar, 
Tunnuhn, Seighul, Kukker, Meihta, &c. Some of the 
Bawunjaees are as follows: Bundaree, Meindrao, Sehtee, 
Sooree, Sanee, Unnud, Buhseen, Solidee, Behdee, Teehun, 
Bhulleh, &c. 

The Uroras claim to be the offspring of Kshutree fathers 
and of Veisya or Soodra mothers, and their legend is that 
they were settled in numbers about Ootch, when the Kshu¬ 
trees, being expelled from Delhi, migrated to Tatta and 
other places in Sindh, and subsequently to Mooltan. During 
their wars the Kshutrees asked the aid of the Uroras, but 
they were refused assistance. The Kshutrees in consequence 
induced the Brahmins to debar the Uroras from the exercise 
of religious rites, and they thus remained proscribed for three 
hundred years, until Sidh Bhoja and Sidh Seeama of Depal¬ 
poor readmitted them within the pale of Hindooism. The 


346 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apf. IY. 


Hindoo bankers of Shikarpoor are Uroras, and the Hindoo 
shopkeepers of Khorassan and Bokhara are likewise held by 
the people of the Punjab to be of the same race. The Uroras 
divide themselves into two main classes : I. Ootradee, or of 
the north, and II. Dukhunee, or of the south, and the latter 
has likewise an important subdivision named Duliunee. 

In the Lower Punjab and in Sindh, the w T hole Hindoo 
trading population is included by the Mahometans under the 
term “ Kerar.” In the Upper Punjab the word is used to 
denote a coward or one base and abject, and about Mooltan 
it is likewise expressive of contempt as well of a Hindoo or 
a trafficker. In Central India the Kerars form a tribe, but 
the term there literally means dalesmen or foresters, although 
it has become the name of a class or tribe in the lapse of 
centuries. Professor Wilson somewhere, I think, identifies 
them with the Chirrhadse of the ancients, and indeed Kerat 
is one of the five Prust'has or regions of the Hindoos, these 
being Cheen Prusth, Yavun Prusth, Indr Prusth, Dukshun 
Prusth, and Kerat Prusth, which last is understood by the 
Indians to apply to the country between Oojein and Orissa. 
(Compare Wilson, Vishnoo Poor an, p. 175. note, for the 
Keratas of that book.) Farther the Brahminical Gonds of 
the Nerbudda are styled “ Raj Gonds,” while those who have 
not adopted Hindooism continue to be called “ Kirreea 
Gonds,” a term which seems to have a relation to their unal¬ 
tered condition. 


APPENDIX IY. 

CASTE IN INDIA. 

The system of caste , as it has become developed in India, as 
it obtained in Egypt and in Persia, as it was exemplified in 
an ancient “ Gens ” with its separate religious rites and here¬ 
ditary usages, as it partially obtained in Europe during the 
Middle Ages, and as it exists even now, is worthy of an essay 



Arr. IV.] 


CASTE IN INDIA. 


347 


distinguished by the ripest scholarship, and by the widest 
experience of life and knowledge of the human mind. In 
India it has evidently been an institution of gradual progress 
up to the pernicious perfection of later days, and in early 
times the bounds were less markedly defined, or less carefully 
observed, than during the last few hundred years. The in¬ 
stance of Yiswamitr’s acquisition of Brahminhood is well 
known, as is Vikrumajeet’s almost successful desire of at¬ 
taining to the same eminence. Vyasa likewise raised a Soodra 
to an equality with the priestly class, and his descendants are 
still looked upon as Brahmins, although inferior in degree. 
(Ward on the Hindoos , i. 85. and see Munnoo’s Institutes, 
chap. x. 42—72. &c., for admissions that merit could open 
the ranks of caste.) Even in the present generation, some 
members of the Jut Sikh family of Sinanhwala, related to 
that of Bunjeet Singh, made an attempt to be admitted to a 
participation in the social rites of Kshutrees; and it may be 
assumed as certain that had the conquering Moghuls and 
Puthans been without a vivid belief and an organized priest¬ 
hood, they would have adopted Yedism and have become 
enrolled among the Kshutrees or ruling races. 

Perhaps the reformer Bamanund expressed the original 
principle of Indian sacerdotal caste when he said that Kubeer 
the weaver had become a Brahmin by knowing Bruhm or 
God. {The Dabistan, ii. 188.) 

The Mahometans of India fancifully divide themselves into 
four classes, after the manner of the Hindoos, viz. Syeas, 
Shekhs, Moghuls, and Puthans. All are noble, indeed, but 
the former two, as representing the tribe of Mahomet, and 
the direct progeny of Alee his son-in-law, are pre-eminent. 
It is likewise a fact, at least in the north-west, that a Ksliu- 
tree convert from Hindooism, or any convert from Sikhism, 
is styled a Shekh, and that converts of inferior races are 
classed as Moghuls and Puthans. Doubtless a Brahmin who 
should become a Mahometan would at once be classed among 
the Syeds. 


348 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[An*. V. 


APPENDIX Y. 

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEMS OF THE INDIANS. 

The six orthodox schools will be found, among them, to par¬ 
tially represent the three great philosophic systems of the 
Greeks, — the ethical, the logical, and the physical; or to be 
severally founded, in more modern language, on revelation or 
morality, reason, and sense. Thus the first and second Mi- 
mans, being based on the Yeds, correspond in a measure with 
the school of Pythagoras, which identified itself so closely 
with the belief and institutions of the age. The Nyaya and 
Weisheshik systems of Gowtum and Kanad, which treat pri¬ 
marily of mind or reason, resemble the dialectics of Xeno¬ 
phanes, while the Sankhya doctrines of Koopel and Puttun- 
jul, which labour with the inertness and modifications of matter, 
correspond with the physical school of Thales, as taught by 
Anaxagoras. Mr. Elphinstone (History of India, i. 234.) has 
some good observations on the marked correspondence of the 
Indian and Greek metaphysics, and Mr. Ward ( Hindoos , 
ii. 113.) attempts a specific comparison with a series of indi¬ 
vidual reasoners, but too little is yet known, especially of 
Brahminical speculation, to render such parallels either exact 
or important. 

The triple division of the schools which is adopted by the 
Indians themselves may here be given as some help to a better 
understanding of the doctrines of the modern reformers. 
They separate the systems into Arumbwad, Purnamwad, and 
Veevurtwad, or the simple atomic, the modified material, 
and the illusory. The “ Arumbwad ” includes the first Mi- 
mans, the Nyaya, and the Weisheshik, and it teaches the 
indestructibility of matter, while it leaves the atoms without 
any other inherent quality, and attributes their various shapes 
and developments to the exercise of God’s will. The “ Pur¬ 
namwad” includes the Sankhya and Yog systems, and teaches 
that matter has not only a power of resistance, but a law of 
aggregation or development, or that it can only have forms 


App. V.] PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEMS OF THE INDIANS. 349 


given to it by God in accordance with its inherent nature. 
The modern Yaishnuvees are mostly adherents of this doc¬ 
trine, but they somewhat modify it, and say that the sensible 
world is God, so imbued with matter that he is himself ma¬ 
nifest in all things, but under such varying forms and appear¬ 
ances as may suit his design. The “ Yeewurtwad,” or the 
second Mimans, and which is orthodox Yedantism, or the 
system of Shunkur Acharj, teaches that God changes not 
his shape, but is himself at once both spirit and matter, al¬ 
though to the sense of man he is variously manifested by 
means of “ Maya,” his power or essence, his image or reflec¬ 
tion— under the guise of the heavens and the earth, or as 
inorganic rocks and as sentient animals. 

Another division of the schools is also made into “ Astik,” 
and “ Nastik,” or deist and atheist, so as to include doctrines 
not Brahminical. Thus the Astik comprehends all the six 
<( Dursuns,” and some modern reasoners further admit Maho¬ 
metanism and Christianity, considered as speculative systems, 
into this theistic or partially orthodox pale. The Nastik 
comprehends primarily the Boodhist and Jein systems, with 
the addition sometimes of the Charvak, which has never been 
popularized; but Hindoo zealots make it secondarily to in¬ 
clude not only Mahometanism and Christianity, but also the 
sects of Gorukh, Kubear, and Nanuk, as being irrespective 
of or repugnant to the Yeds, while similarly they place the 
Poorv and Ootur Mimans above the mere deism of reason, as 
being the direct revelation of God. 

The Boodhists are subdivided into four schools,— the Sas- 
trantik, the Weibashik, the Yogachar, and the Madeeamit. 
All agree in compounding animal existence of five essences 
or qualities. 1st, Independent consciousness, or soul, or self. 
2d, Perception of form, or of external objects. 3d, Sensa¬ 
tion, pleasure, or pain,— the action of matter on mind. 4th, 
Understanding or comprehension, the reaction of mind on 
matter, or mind pervaded with the qualities of matter. 5th, 
Passion, volition, action, or mind, vital and motive. Scholars 
thus consider the present subjection of matter to mind as the 
greatest happiness of which man is capable, and they declare 
death to be the utter dissolution of the individual; while the 


350 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. YI. 


Boodhas of vulgar adoration become simply revered me¬ 
mories or remembrances with the learned. The first section 
holds that intelligence, or the joint perception of the object 
and subject, is the soul or distinguishing characteristic of 
humanity; the second gives the preference to simple con¬ 
sciousness; the third prefers objective sensation, and the 
fourth teaches that the fact, or the phenomenon of the as¬ 
semblage of the component qualities is the only spirit; or, 
indeed, that there is nought permanent or characteristic save 
nonentity, or the void of non-being. This last evidently 
merges into the Charvak school, and it is also called the 
ff Shoonyabad ” system, or the doctrine of vacuity or non¬ 
existence, and an attempt was recently made to popularize it 
in Upper India, by one Bukhtawur, and his patron, the 
Chief of Hattrass (Wilson, As. Res. xvii. 305.); nor is it 
difficult to perceive, that practically it would resolve itself 
into the principle of self-reliance, or perhaps the “know- 
thyself ” of the Greek sage. 

The Jeins base human existence on the aggregation of nine 
phenomena, or principles, one of which, Jeev, vitality, may 
by merit become a Jin, or an immortal spirit. The two great 
divisions “ Swetamber,” the white clothed, and “ Degum- 
ber,” the naked, seem to have few important metaphysical 
differences, except that the latter refuses emancipation to the 
Jeev, or vital power in woman, or denies that woman has a 
soul capable of immortality. 

The six heretical systems of Indian speculation thus com¬ 
prize the four Boodhist and two Jein schools; or, if the Jein 
be held to be one, the sixth is obtained by including the 
Charvak. 

The tendency of Indian speculation lies doubtless towards 
materialism, and the learned say the mind cannot grasp that 
which is without qualities, or which has force without form, 
and is irrespective of space. In how much does the philo¬ 
sophy of Humboldt differ from this, when he says he con¬ 
fidently expects what Socrates once desired, t£ that Reason 
shall be the sole interpreter of Nature ?” ( Kosmos , Sabine's 

Trans, i. 154.) 


Arr. VI.] ON THE MAYA OF THE INDIANS, 


351 


APPENDIX VI. 

ON THE MAYA OF THE INDIANS. 

The Maya of the Hindoos may be considered under a three¬ 
fold aspect, or morally, poetically, and philosophically. 

Morally , it means no more than the vanity of Solomon 
(Ecclesiastes, i. and ii.), or the nothingness of this world; and 
thus Kubeer likens it to delusion or evil, or to moral error 
in the abstract. ( Asiatic Researches , xvi. 161.) The Indian re¬ 
formers, indeed, made a use of Maya corresponding with the 
use made by the Apostle Saint John of the Logos of Plato, 
as Mr. Milman very judiciously observes. (Note in Gibbon’s 
History , iii. 312.) The one adapted Maya to the Hindoo 
notions of a sinful world, and the other explained to Greek 
and Roman understandings the nature of Christ’s relation to 
God by representing the divine intelligence to be manifested 
in the Messiah. 

Poetically , Maya is used to denote a film before the eyes of 
gods and heroes, which limits their sight or sets bounds to 
their senses (Heereen’s Asiatic Nations , iii. 203.); and simi¬ 
larly Pallas dispels a mist from before the eyes of Diomed, 
and makes the ethereal forms of divinities apparent to a 
mortal. (Iliad, v.) The popular speech of all countries con¬ 
tains proof of the persuasion that the imperfect powers of 
men render them unable to appreciate the world around 
them. 

Philosophically , the Maya of the Yedant system (which 
corresponds to a certain extent with the Prukrittee of the 
Sankliya school, and with the Cosmic substance of Xeno¬ 
phanes, or more exactly with the Play of the Infinite Being 
of Heraclitus), seems identical with the idealism of Berkeley. 
The doctrine seems also to have had the same origin as the 
“ Idola” system of Bacon ; and thus, as an illusion or a false 
appearance, Maya is the opposite of Plato’s “ Idea,” or the 
True. Ordinarily, Maya is simply held to denote the ap¬ 
parent or sensible in opposition to the real, as when, accord- 


352 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. VII. 


ing to the common illustration, a rope is taken for a snake, 
while in another point of view it is regarded as the Agent or 
Medium of God’s manifestation in the universe, either as 
merely exhibiting images, or as really and actively mixed up 
with the production of worlds. It is curious that in England 
and in India the same material argument should have been 
used to confute Berkeley’s theory of dreams, and the Brah- 
minical theory of illusion. An elephant was impelled against 
Shunkur Acharj, who maintained the unreal nature of his 
own body, and of all around him; and Dr. Johnson con¬ 
sidered that he demolished the doctrine when, striking a stone 
with his foot, he showed that he recoiled from it. But 
Shunkur Acharj had a readier wit than the supporters of 
the bishop, and he retorted upon his adversaries when they 
ridiculed his nimble steps to avoid the beast, that all was a 
fancy; there was no Shunkur, no elephant, no flight, — all 
was a delusion. ( Dabistan , ii. 103.) 

Maya> may also be said to be used in a fourth or political 
sense by the Indians, as in the Sahit or Neetee section of the 
“ Urth Shastr,” or fourth “ Oopved,” which treats, among 
other things, of the duties of rulers, it is allowed as one of 
the modes of gaining an end. But Maya, in the science in 
question, is used to signify rather secrecy, or strategy, or 
dexterous diplomacy, than gross deceit; for fraud and false¬ 
hood are among the prohibited ways. Maya, it is said, may 
be employed to delude an enemy or to secure the obedience 
of subjects. Socrates admits that, under similar circumstances, 
such deceit would be fitting and proper, or that in his scheme 
it would come under the category of justice. ( Memorabilia , 
b. iv. c. ii.) 


APPENDIX VII. 

THE METAPHYSICS OF INDIAN REFORMERS. 

What has been said in the text about the modern reformers 
relates chiefly to the popular theology. Some of them, how¬ 
ever, likewise philosophised or speculated on the origin of 
things, and thus the “ Ootur Mimans” school is sometimes 



App. VII.] METAPHYSICS OF INDIAN REFORMERS. 353 

subdivided into four branches, known, 1st, as the “ Adweit,” 
or pure system of Shunkur; and, 2d, as the “ Madhuv- 
adweit,” the “ Vusisht-adweit,” and the “ Shood-adweit,” or 
modified systems of Unity of Madhuv, Ramanooj, and Yul- 
lubh respectively. Shunkur Acharj taught that God is the 
original of all things, and is in reality unchangeable in form ; 
wherefore, when oblivious (aglieean) of himself, he variously 
becomes manifest as vitality and matter, he does so as “Maya,” 
or as Images, or as the mirror reflecting all things, yet re¬ 
maining itself the same. Life and the Soul are one in this 
system, and salvation becomes absorption, while, as a proof 
that the same vitality may put on different, shapes, he -quotes 
the instance of the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the butterfly. 
Madhuv holds Life to be distinct from Spirit, and with him 
the purified soul dwells with God without being absorbed, 
but he gives prominence to “ Maya” as coexistent with God, 
or as the moving and brooding spirit which gives form to 
matter; and thus the followers of Ramanooj extend Mad- 
huv’s notion, and talk of God, Maya, and Life, as well as of 
Atoms. Yallubh and the Yishnooswamees or the Shood- 
adweits, likewise maintain the distinct nature of Life or of 
the human Soul, and make Salvation a dwelling with God 
without liability to reappearance; but the doctrine of “Maya” 
is almost wholly rejected in favor of a Material Pantheism, 
as that the light which illumines a room is the same with the 
illuminating principle of the transmitting flame, and hence 
that what man perceives is actual and not illusory. For 
some partial notices of these reasonings, see Wilson, As. Res., 
xvi. 34. 89. and 104.; and they may be perused at length in 
the Commentaries of the several Speculators on the “ Bha- 
gavut Gheeta,” in the “ Urth Punchuk” of Ramanooj, and in 
the “ Dusha Slok ” of Yishnooswamee. 


A A 


854 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. VIII. 


APPENDIX VIII. 

nanuk’s philosophical allusions popular or moral 

RATHER THAN SCIENTIFIC. 

Professor Wilson (As. Res., xvii. 233., and continuation 
of Mill’s History of India, vii. 101, 102.), would appear to 
think slightingly of the doctrines of Nanuk, as being mere me¬ 
taphysical notions founded on the abstractions of Soefeeism 
and the Yedant philosophy; but it is difficult for any one to 
write about the omnipotence of God and the hopes of man, 
without laying himself open to a charge of belonging to one 
speculative school or another. Milton, the poet and states¬ 
man, indeed, may have had a particular leaning, when he 
thought # of “body working up to spirit” (Paradise Lost, v.); 
but is St. Paul, the reformer and enthusiast, to be contemned, 
or is he to be misunderstood when he says, “It is sown a 
natural body, and is raised a spiritual body”? (1 Corinthians, 
xv. 44.) Similarly such expressions as “ Doth not the Lord 
fill heaven and earth” (Jeremiah, xxiii. 24.), “ God, in whom 
we live and move and have our being” (Acts, xvii. 28.); and 
“ Of him, and to him, and through him are all things” (Ro¬ 
mans, xi. 36.), might be used to declare the prophet and the 
apostle to be Pantheists or Materialists; but it nevertheless 
seems plain that Jeremiah and Paul, and likewise Nanuk, 
had another object in view than scholastic dogmatism, and 
that they simply desired to impress mankind with exalted 
notions of the greatness and goodness of God, by a vague 
employment of general language which they knew would 
never mislead the multitude. 

Professor Wilson (As. Res., xvii. 233. 237, 238.) and 
Mohsun Fanee ( Dabistan, ii. 269, 270. 285, 286.) may be 
compared together, and the Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 110.) 
may be compared with both, with reference to the contra¬ 
dictory views taken of the similarity or difference respectively 
between Sikhism and Brahminism. Each is right, the one 


Arp. VIII.] NANUlPs PHILOSOPHICAL ALLUSIONS. 355 


with regard to the imperfect faith or the corrupt practices, 
especially of the Sikhs in the Gangetic provinces, and the 
other with regard to the admitted doctrines of Nanuk, as they 
will always be explained by any qualified person. 

It is to be remembered that the Sikhs regard the mission 
of Nanuk and Govind as the consummation of other dispensa¬ 
tions including that of Mahomet; and their talk, therefore, 
of Brumha and Vishnoo, and various heavenly powers, is no 
more unreasonable than the deference of Christians to Moses 
and Abraham, and to the archangels Michael and Gabriel. 
Such allusions are perhaps, indeed, more excusable in the 
Sikhs, than “that singular polytheism” of our mediaeval di¬ 
vines, which they “ grafted on the language rather (indeed) 
than on the principles of Christianity.” — Hallam, Middle 
Ages , iii. 346. 

For an instance of the moral application which Nanuk w r as 
wont to give to mythological stories, see Ward on the Hindoos 
(iii. 465.). Nanuk, indeed, refers continually to Hindoo 
notions, but he was not therefore an idolater; and it should 
further be borne in mind that, as St. John could draw illus¬ 
trations from Greek philosophy, so could St. Paul make an 
advantageous use of the Greek poets, as was long ago ob¬ 
served upon in a right spirit by Milton (Speech for the 
Liberty of unlicensed Printing). In the early ages of Chris¬ 
tianity, moreover, the sibylline leaves were referred to as 
foretelling the mission of Jesus; but although the spurious¬ 
ness of the passages is now admitted, the fathers are not 
accused of polytheism, or of holding Amalthaea, the nurse of 
Jupiter, to be a real type of the Virgin Mary! In truth, all 
religious systems not possessed of a body of literature or philo¬ 
sophy proper to themselves seek elsewhere for support in such 
matters. Thus the Chevalier Bunsen {Egypt, i. 194, &c.) 
observes that the early Christians were even desirous of re¬ 
conciling Scripture with Greek history; and Banke {Hist, of 
the Popes , p. 125. ed. 1843) says that the Church, so late as 
the sixteenth century, was willing to rest its dogmas and 
doctrines on the metaphysics of the Ancients. 


356 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. IX. 


APPENDIX IX. 

THE TERMS RAJ AND JOG, DEG AND TEGH. 

The warlike resistance of Hur Govind, or the arming of the 
Sikhs by that teacher, is mainly attributed by Malcolm 
(Sketch , p. 34, 35.) and Forster ( Travels , i. 298, 299.) to his 
personal feelings of revenge for the death of his father, 
although religious animosity against Mahometans is allowed 
to have had some share in bringing about the change. The 
circumstance of the Gooroo’s military array does not appear 
to have struck Mohsun Fanee as strange or unusual, and his 
work, the Dabistan, does not therefore endeavour to account 
for it. The Sikhs themselves connect the modification of 
Nanuk’s system with the double nature of the mythological 
Junnuk of Mithila, whose released soul, indeed, is held to 
have animated the body of their first teacher ( Dabistan , ii. 
268.), and they have encumbered their ideal of a ruler with 
the following personal anecdote : The wife of Arjoon was 
without children, and she began to despair of ever becoming 
a mother. She went to Bhaee Boodha, the ancient and only 
surviving companion of Nanuk, to beseech his blessing; but 
he, disliking the degree of state she assumed and her costly 
offerings, would not notice her. She afterwards went bare¬ 
footed and alone to his presence, carrying on her head the 
ordinary food of peasants. The Bahee smiled benignly upon 
her, and said she should have a son, who would be master 
both of the Deg and Tegli; that is, simply of a vessel for 
food and a sword, but typically of grace and power, the terms 
corresponding in significance with the “Raj” and “Jog” of 
Junnuk 1 , the “Peeree” and “Meeree” of Indian Maho- 

1 “ Raj men jog koomaio,” to attain immortal purity or virtue, or to dwell 
in grace while exercising earthly sway. It is an expression of not unfrequent 
use, and which occurs in the Adee Grunt’h, in the “ Suweias,” by certain Bhats. 
Thus one Beeka says, Ram Das (the fourth Gooroo) got the “ Tukht,” or 
throne, of “ Raj ” and “ Jog,” from Ummer Das. “ Deg,” as above stated, means 
simply a vessel for food, and thence, metaphorically, abundance on earth, and 


Arp. X.] 


CASTE AMONG THE SIKHS. 


35 7 


metans, and with the idea of the priesthood and kingship 
residing in Melchisedec and in the expected Messiah of the 
Jews. Thus Hur Govind is commonly said to have worn 
two swords, one to denote his spiritual, and the other his 
temporal power; or, as he may sometimes have chosen to 
express it, one to avenge his father, and the other to destroy 
Mahometanism. (See Malcolm, Sketch , p. 35.) 

The fate of Arjoon, and the personal character of his son, 
had doubtless some share in leading the Sikhs to take up 
arms; but the whole progress of the change is not yet 
apparent, nor perhaps do the means exist of tracing it. The 
same remark applies to the early Christian history, and we 
are left in ignorance of how that modification of feeling and 
principle was brought about, which made those who were so 
averse to the “ business of war and government” in the time 
of the [early] Caesars, fill the armies of the empire in the 
reign of Diocletian, and at last give a military master to the 
western world in the person of Constantine. (Compare 
Gibbon, History , ii. 325. 375. Ed. of 1838.) 


APPENDIX X. 

CASTE AMONG THE SIKHS. 

It may nevertheless be justly observed that Govind abolished 
caste rather by implication than by a direct enactment, and it 
may be justly objected that the Sikhs still uphold the prin¬ 
cipal distinctions at least of race. Thus the Gooroos no¬ 
where say that Brahmins and Soodras are to intermarry, or 
that they are daily to partake together of the same food ; but 
that they laid a good foundation for the practical obliteration 


grace on the part of God. The two terms are clearly synonymous, and thus 
Thomson writes of the sun as the 

-“ great delegated source 

Of light, and life, and grace , and joy below.” 

The Seasons — Summer. 




35 8 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. X. 


of all differences will be evident from the following quota¬ 
tions, always bearing in mind the vast preeminence which 
they assign to religious unity and truth over social sameness 
or political equality: — 

“ Think not of caste : abase thyself, and attain to salva¬ 
tion.” — Nanuk , Sarung Rag. 

“ God will not ask man of what race he is; he will ask 
him what has he done ? ”— NAnuk, Purbhatee Raginee. 

“ Of the impure among the noblest. 

Heed not the injunction; 

Of one pure among the most despised, 

Nanuk will become the footstool.” 

Nanuk, Mulliar Rag. 

“ All of the seed of Bruhm (God) are Brahmins: 

They say there are four races, 

But all are of the seed of Bruhm.” 

Ummer Das, Bheiruv. 

“ Kshutree, Brahmin, Soodra, Yeisya, whoever remembers 
the name of God, who worships him always, &c. &c., shall 
attain to salvation.” — Bam Das, Bilawul. 

“ The four races shall be one. 

All shall call on the Gooroo.” 

Govind, in the Rehet Nameh 
(not in the Grunt'K). 

Compare Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 45, note), for a saying attri¬ 
buted to Govind, that the castes would become one when 
well mixed, as the four components of the “ Pan-Sooparee,” 
or betel, of the Hindoos, became of one colour when well 
chewed. 

The Sikhs of course partake in common of the Prusad 
(vulg. Pershad) or consecrated food, which is ordinarily com¬ 
posed of flour, coarse sugar, and clarified butter. Several, 
perhaps all, Hindoo sects, however, do the same. (See Wil¬ 
son, As. Res., xvi. 83, note, and xvii. 239. note.) 


App. XI.] RITES OF INITIATION INTO SIKHISM. 


359 


APPENDIX XI. 

RITES OF INITIATION INTO SIKHISM. 

Sikhs are not ordinarily initiated until they reach the age 
of discrimination and remembrance, or not before they are 
seven years of age, or sometimes until they have attained to 
manhood. But there is no authoritative rule on the subject, 
nor is there any declaratory ceremonial of detail which can 
be followed. The essentials are that five Sikhs at least should 
be assembled, and it is generally arranged that one of the 
number is of some religious repute. Some sugar and water 
are stirred together in a vessel of any kind, commonly with 
a two-edged dagger; but any iron weapon will answer. The 
noviciate stands with his hands joined in an attitude of hu¬ 
mility or supplication, and he repeats after the elder or mi¬ 
nister the main articles of his faith. Some of the water is 
sprinkled on his face and person ; he drinks the remainder, 
and exclaims, Hail Gooroo! and the ceremony concludes 
with an injunction that he be true to God, and to his duty 
as a Sikh. For details of particular modes followed, see 
Forster ( Travels , i. 307.), Malcolm ( Sketch , p. 182.), and 
Prinsep’s edition of Murray’s Life of Runjeet Singh (p. 217.), 
where an Indian compiler is quoted. 

The original practice of using the water in which the feet 
of a Sikh had been w r ashed was soon abandoned, and the sub¬ 
sequent custom of touching the water with the toe seems 
now almost wholly forgotten. The first rule was perhaps 
instituted to denote the humbleness of spirit of the disciples, 
or both it and the second practice may have originated in that 
feeling of the Hindoos which attaches virtue to water in 
which the thumb of a Brahmin has been dipped. It seems 
in every way probable that Govind substituted the dagger 
for the foot or the toe, thus giving further preeminence to 
his emblematic iron. 

Women are not usually, but they are sometimes, initiated 

A a 4 


360 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. XII. 


in form as professors of the Sikh faith. In mingling the 
sugar and water for women, a one-edged, and not a two- 
edged, dagger is used. 


APPENDIX XII. 

THE EXCLAMATION WAH GOOROO AND THE EXPRESSION 
DEG, TEGH, FUTTEH. 

The proper exclamation of community of faith of the 
Sikhs as a sect is simply, “ Wah Gooroo ! ” that is, O Gooroo ! 
or Hail Gooroo ! The lengthened exclamations of “ Wah ! 
Gooroo ke Futteh ! ” and “ Wah! Gooroo ka Khalsa ! ” (Hail! 
Virtue or power of the Gooroo! or, Hail! Gooroo and Vic¬ 
tory ! and Hail to the state or church of the Gooroo !), are 
not authoritative, although the former has become customary, 
and its use, as completing the idea embraced in “ Deg ” and 
« Tegli ” (see ante , Appendix IX.) naturally arose out of the 
notions diffused by Govind, if he did not ordain it as the 
proper salutation of believers. 

Many of the chapters or books into which the Adee Grunt’h 
is divided, begin with the expression “ Eko Oonkar, Sut 
Gooroo Prusad,” which may be interpreted to mean, “ the 
One God, and the grace of the blessed Gooroo.” Some of 
the chapters of the Duswen Padshah ka Grunt’h begin with 
“ Eko Oonkar, Wah Gooroo ke Futteh,” that is, “ The One 
God and the power of the Gooroo.” 

The Sikh author of the Goor Rutnaolee gives the follow¬ 
ing fanciful and trivial origin of the salutation Wah Gooroo! 
Wasdeo, the exclamation of the first age, or Sutyoog; 

Hur Hur, the exclamation of the second age; 

Govind Govind, the exclamation of the third age ; 

Ram Ram, the exclamation of the fourth age, or Kulyoog; 
whence Wall GooRoo in the fifth age, or under the new 
dispensation. 



Arp. XIII.] 


SIKH DEVOTION TO STEEL. 


361 


APPENDIX XIII. 

THE SIKH DEVOTION TO STEEL, AND THE TEEM 
“ SUTCHA PADSHAH.” 

Foe allusions to this devotion to steel, see Malcolm, Sketch , 
p. 48. p. 117, note, and p. 182, note. 

The meaning given in the text to the principle inculcated 
seems to be the true one. Throughout India the implements 
of any calling are in a manner worshipped, or in western 
moderation of phrase, they are blessed or consecrated. This 
is especially noticeable among merchants, who annually per¬ 
form religious ceremonies before a heap of gold; among 
hereditary clerks or writers, who similarly idolize their ink- 
horn ; and among soldiers and military leaders, who on the 
festival of the Dussehra consecrate their banners and piled-up 
weapons. Govind withdrew his followers from that un¬ 
divided attention which their fathers had given to the plough, 
the loom, and the pen, and he urged them to regard the 
sword as their principal stay in this world. The sentiment of 
veneration for that which gives us power, or safety, or our 
daily bread, may be traced in all countries. In our own a 
sailor impersonates, or almost deifies his ship, and in India 
the custom of hereditary callings has heightened that feeling, 
which, expressed in the language of philosophy, becomes the 
dogma admitting the soul to be increate indeed, but enve¬ 
loped in the understanding, which again is designed for our 
use in human affairs, or until our bliss is perfect. It is this 
external or inferior spirit, so to speak, which must devote its 
energies to the service and contemplation of steel, while the 
increate soul contemplates God. 

The import of the term Sutcha Padshah , or True King, 
seems to be explained in the same way. A spiritual king, or 
Gooroo, rules the eternal soul, or guides it to salvation, while 
a temporal monarch controls our finite faculties only, or puts 
restraints upon the play of our passions and the enjoyment of 
our senses. The Mahometans have the same idea and a cor¬ 
responding term, viz.: Malik Hukeekee. 


362 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. XIY. 


APPENDIX XIV. 

DISTINCTIVE USAGES OF THE SIKHS. 

These and many other distinctions of Sikhs, may be seen in 
the Eehet and Tunkha Namehs of Govind, forming part of 
Appendix XX. of this volume. 

Unshorn locks and a blue dress, as the characteristics of a 
believer, do not appear as direct injunctions in any extant 
writing attributed to Govind, and they seem chiefly to have 
derived their distinction as marks from custom or usage, 
while the propriety of wearing a blue dress is now regarded 
as less obligatory than formerly. Both usages appear to have 
originated in a spirit of opposition to Hindooism, for many 
Brahminical devotees keep their heads carefully shaved, and 
all Hindoos are shaven when initiated into their religious 
duties or responsibilities, or on the death of a near relative. 
It is also curious, with regard to color, that many religious, 
or indeed simply respectable Hindoos, have still an aversion 
to blue, so much so indeed that a Rajpoot farmer will demur 
about sowing his fields with indigo. The Mahometans, again, 
prefer blue dresses, and perhaps the dislike of the Hindoos 
arose during the Mussulman conquest, as Krishna himself, 
among others, is described as blue clothed. Thus, the Sikh 
author, Bhaee Goordas Bhulleh, says of Nanuk, <c Again he 
went to Mecca, blue clothing he had like Krishna.” Simi¬ 
larly no Sikh will wear clothes of a “ soohee ” color, i. e . 
dyed with safflower, such having long been the favorite 
color with Hindoo devotees as it is gradually becoming 
with Mahometan ascetics. [As a distinction of race, if not of 
creed, the unshorn locks of the Sikhs have a parallel in the 
long hair of the Prankish nobles and freemen. The con¬ 
trasting terms “ crinosus” and “ tonsoratus” arose in medi¬ 
aeval Europe, and the virtue or privilege due to flowing hair 
was so great that Childebert talked of having his brother’s 


Api*. XV.] ON THE USE OF ARABIC AND SANSCRIT. 363 


children either cropped or put to death . (Hallam’s Middle 
Ages , supplemental notes, p. 110, 111.)] 

The Sikhs continue to refrain from tobacco, nor do they 
smoke drugs of any kind, although tobacco itself seems to 
have been originally included as snuff only among proscribed 
things. Tobacco was first introduced into India about 1617. 
(M‘Culloch’s Commercial Dictionary , art. “ Tobacco.”) It 
was, I think, idly denounced in form by one of Akber’s 
successors, but its use is now universal among Indian Ma¬ 
hometans. 

Another point of difference which may be noticed is, that 
the Sikhs wear a kind of breeches, or now many wear a sort 
of pantaloons, instead of girding up their loins after the 
manner of the Hindoos. The adoption of the “ kutch,” or 
breeches, is of as much importance to a Sikh boy as was the 
investiture with the “ toga virilis ” to a Roman youth. 

The Sikh women are distinguished from Hindoos of their 
sex by some variety of dress, but chiefly by a higher top- 
knot of hair. 


APPENDIX XV. 

ON THE USE OF ARABIC AND SANSCRIT FOR THE 
PURPOSES OF EDUCATION IN INDIA. 

Up to the present time England has made no great and last¬ 
ing impress on the Indians, except as the introducer of an 
improved and effective military system; although she has 
also done much to exalt her character as a governing power, 
by her generally scrupulous adherence to formal engagements. 

The Indian mind has not yet been suffused or saturated by 
the genius of the English, nor can the light of European 
knowledge be spread over the country, until both the San- 



364 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XV. 


scrit and Arabic (Persian) languages are made the vehicles 
of instructing the learned . These tongues should thus be 
assiduously cultivated, although not so much for what they 
contain as for what they may be made the means of con¬ 
veying. The hierarchies of ec Gymnosophists” and “ Ulema ” 
will the more readily assent to mathematical or logical deduc¬ 
tions, if couched in words identified in their eyes with 
scientific research; and they in time must of necessity make 
known the truths learned to the mass of the people. The 
present system of endeavoring to diffuse knowledge by 
means of the rude and imperfect vernacular tongues can 
succeed but slowly, for it seems to be undertaken in a spirit 
of opposition to the influential classes; and it is not likely to 
succeed at all until expositions of the sciences, with ample 
proofs and illustrations, are rendered complete, instead of 
partial and elementary only, or indeed meagre and inaccurate 
in the extreme, as many of the authorized school-books are. 
If there were Sanscrit or Arabic counterparts to these much- 
required, elaborate treatises, the predilections of the learned 
Indians would be overcome with comparative ease. 

The fact that the astronomy of Ptolemy, and the geometry 
of Euclid, are recognized in their Sanscrit dress, as text 
books of science even among the Brahmins, should not be 
lost upon the promoters of education in the present age. The 
philosophy of facts and the truths of physical science had to 
be made known by Copernicus and Galileo, Bacon and New¬ 
ton, through the medium of the Latin tongue; and the 
first teachers and upholders of Christianity preferred the ad¬ 
mired and widely spoken Roman and Greek, both to the 
antique Hebrew and to the imperfect dialects of Gaul and 
Syria, Africa and Asia Minor. In either case the language 
recommended the doctrine, and added to the conviction of 
Origen and Irenseus, Tertullian and Clement of Home, as 
well as to the belief of the scholar of more modern times. 
Similarly in India, the use of Sanscrit, and Arabic, and 
Persian, would give weight to the most obvious principles, 
and completeness to the most logical demonstrations. 

That in Calcutta the study of the sciences is pursued with 


App. XVI.] ON THE LAND-TAX IN INDIA. 


365 


some success, through the joint medium of the English lan¬ 
guage and local dialects, and that in especial the tact and 
perseverance of the professors of the Medical College have 
induced Indians of family or caste to dissect the human body, 
do not militate against the views expressed above, but rather 
serve as exceptions to prove their truth. In Calcutta En¬ 
glishmen are numerous, and their wealth, intelligence, and 
political position render their influence overwhelming; but 
this mental predominance decreases so rapidly, that it is un¬ 
felt in fair sized towns within fifty miles of the capital, and 
is but faintly revived in the populous cities of Benares and 
Delhi, Poonah and Hydrabad. 


APPENDIX XVI. 

ON THE LAND-TAX IN INDIA. 

The proportions of the land-tax to the general revenues of 
British India are nearly as follows : — 

Bengal, §-; Bombay, §; Madras, f; Agra, 

Average =J of the whole. 

In some European states the proportions are nearly as 
below: — 

England, ’> France, |; Spain, T \ (perhaps some error); 
Belgium, j T ; Prussia, T 2 T ; Naples, \ ; Austria, J. 

In the United States of America the revenue is almost 
wholly derived from customs. 

It is now idle to revert to the theory of the ancient laws of 
the Hindoos, or of the more recent institutes of the Maho¬ 
metans, although much clearness of view has resulted from 



366 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XVI. 


the learned researches or laborious inquiries of Briggs and 
Munro, of Sykes and Halhed and Galloway. It is also idle 
to dispute whether the Indian farmer pays a “rent” or a 
“ tax,” in a technical sense, since, practically, it is certain, 
1. that the government (or its assign, the jagheerdar or 
grantee,) gets, in nearly all instances, almost the whole surplus 
produce of the land; and, 2. that the state, if the owner, does 
not perform its duty by not furnishing from its capital wells 
and other things, which correspond in difficulty of provision 
with barns and drains in England. In India no one thinks 
of investing capital or of spending money on the improve¬ 
ment of the land, excepting, directly, a few patriarchal chiefs 
through love of their homes; and, indirectly, the wealthy 
speculators in opium, sugar, &c., through the love of gain. 
An ordinary village “ head-man,” or the still poorer “ ryot,” 
whether paying direct to government or through a revenue 
farmer, has just so much of the produce left as will enable 
him to provide the necessary seed, his own inferior food, and 
the most simple requisites of tillage; and as he has thus no 
means, he cannot incur the expense or run the risk of intro¬ 
ducing improvements. 

Hence it behoves England, if in doubt about Oriental 
“ socage” and “freehold” tenures, to redistribute her taxa¬ 
tion, to diminish her assessment on the soil, and to give her 
multitudes of subjects, who are practically “ copyholders,” 
at least a permanent interest in the land, as she has done so 
largely by “customary” leaseholders within her own proper 
dominion. There should likewise be a limit to which such 
estates might be divided, and this could be advantageously 
done, by allowing the owner of a petty holding to dispose as 
he pleased, not of the land itself, but of what it might bring 
when sold. 

For some just observations on the land tenures of India, 
see Lieutenant-Colonel Sleeman’s Rambles and Recollections 
of an Indian Official , i. 80, &c. ; and ii. 346, &c.; while, 
for & fiscal description of the transition system now in force 
in the north-western provinces, the present Lieutenant-Go¬ 
vernor’s Directions for Settlement Officers , and his Remarks 
on the Revenue System , may be profitably consulted. 


Apr. XVII.] 


THE A DEE GRUNT’H. 


367 


APPENDIX XVII. 

THE “ADEE GRUNT’H,” OR FIRST BOOK; OR, THE BOOK 

of nAnuk, the first gooroo or teacher of tiie 

SIKHS. 

Note. — The First Grunt’h is nowhere narrative or his¬ 
torical. It throws no light, by direct exposition, upon the 
political state of India during the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries, although it contains many allusions illustrative of 
the condition of society, and of the religious feelings of the 
times. Its teaching is to the general purport that God is to 
be worshipped in spirit and in truth, with little reference to 
particular forms, and that salvation is unattainable without 
grace, faith, and good works. 

The “ Adee Grunt’h ” comprises, first , the writings attri¬ 
buted to Nanuk, and the succeeding teachers of the Sikh 
faith up to the ninth Gooroo, Tegh Buhadur, omitting 
the sixth, seventh, and eighth, but with perhaps some 
additions and emendations by Govind; secondly , the com¬ 
positions of certain “ Bhugguts,” or saints, mostly sec¬ 
tarian Hindoos, and who are usually given as sixteen in 
number; and, thirdly , the verses of certain “ Bhats,” or 
rhapsodists, followers of Nanuk and of some of his succes¬ 
sors. The numbers, and even the names of the “ Bhugguts,” 
or saints, are not always the same in copies of the Grunt’h; 
and thus modern compilers or copyists have assumed to 
themselves the power of rejecting or sanctioning particular 
writings. To the sixteen Bhugguts are usually added two 
“ Dorns,” or chanters, who recited before Arjoon, and who 
caught some of his spirit; and a “ Rubabee,” or player upon 
a stringed instrument, who became similarly inspired. 

The Grunt’h sometimes includes an appendix, containing 
works the authenticity of which is doubtful, or the propriety 
of admitting which is disputed on other grounds. 


368 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XVII. 


The Grunt’h was originally compiled by Arjoon, the fifth 
Gooroo; but it subsequently received a few additions at the 
hands of his successors. 

The Grunt’h is written wholly in verse; but the forms of 
versification are numerous. The language used is rather the 
Hindee of Upper India generally, than the particular dialect 
of the Punjab; but some portions, especially of the last sec¬ 
tion, are composed in Sanscrit. The written character is 
nevertheless throughout the Punjabee, one of the several 
varieties of alphabets now current in India, and which, from 
its use by the Sikh Gooroos, is sometimes called “ Goor- 
mookhee,” a term likewise applied to the dialect of the 
Punjab. The language of the writings of Nanuk is thought 
by modern Sikhs to abound with provincialisms of the coun¬ 
try S. W. of Lahore, and the dialect of Arjoon is held to be 
the most pure. 

The Grunt’h usually forms a quarto volume of about 1232 
pages, each page containing 24 lines, and each line contain¬ 
ing about 35 letters. The extra books increase the pages to 
1240 only. 


Contents of the Adee Grunfh. 


1st. The “ Jupjeef or simply the “ Jupf called also Gooroo 
Muntr , or the special prayer of initiation of the Gooroo. It 
occupies about seven pages, and consists of 40 sloks, called 
Powree , of irregular lengths, some of two, and some of several 
lines. It means, literally, the remembrancer or admonisher, 
from jup , to remember. It was written by Nanuk, and is 
believed to have been appointed by him to be repeated each 
morning, as every pious Sikh now does. The mode of com¬ 
position implies the presence of a questioner and an answerer, 
and the Sikhs believe the questioner to have been the disciple 
Unggud. 

2d. " Sodur Reih Rasf — the evening prayer of the 
Sikhs. It occupies about 3^ pages, and it was composed by 


App. XVII.] 


THE “ADEE GRUNT’h . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 


369 


N&nuk, but has additions by Ram Das and Arjoon, and 
some, it is said, by Gooroo Govind. The additions at¬ 
tributed to Govind are, however, more frequently given 
when the Reih Ras forms a separate pamphlet or book. 
Sodur , a particular kind of verse; Reih , admonisher; Ras , 
the expression used for the play or recitative of Krishna. It 
is sometimes corruptly called the “ Rowh Ras,” from Rowh , 
the Punjabee for a road. 

3d. “ Keerit Sohila ,”—a prayer repeated before going to 
rest. It occupies a page, and a line or two more. It was 
composed by Nanuk, but has additions by Ram Das and 
Arjoon, and one verse is attributed to Govind. Keerit , from 
Sanscrit Keertee , to praise, to celebrate ; and Sohila , a 
marriage song, a song of rejoicing. 

4th. The next portion of the Grunt’h is divided into 
thirty-one sections, known by their distinguishing forms 
verse, as follows : — 


1. Sirree Rag. 

2. Majh. 

3. Gowree. 

4. Assa. 

5. Goojree. 

6. Deo Gundharee. 

7. Bihagra. 

8. Wud Huns. 

9. Sorut’h(or Sort). 

10. Dhunasree. 

11. Jeit Sirree. 


12. Todee. 

13. Beiraree. 

14. Teilung. 

15. Sodhee. 

16. Bilawul. 

17. Gowd. 

18. Ram Kullee. 

19. NutNurayen. 

20. Malee Gowra. 

21. Maroo. 


22. Tokharee. 

23. Kedara. 

24. Bheiron. 

25. Bussunt. 

26. Sarung. 

27. Mulhar. 

28. Kanra. 

29. Kulleean. 

30. Purbhatee. 

31. Jei Jeiwuntee. 


The whole occupies about 1154 pages, or by far the greater 
portion of the entire Grunt’h. Each subdivision is the com¬ 
position of one or more Gooroos, or of one or more Bhugguts 
or holy men, or of a Gooroo with or without the aid of a 
Bhuggut. 


B B 


370 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XVII. 


The contributors among the Gooroos were as follows: — 


1. Nanuk. 

2. Unggud. 

3. Ummer Das. 

4. Ram Das. 


5. Arjoon. 

6. Tegh Buhadur, with, per¬ 

haps, emendations by 
Govind. 


The Bhugguts or saints, and others who contributed 
agreeably to the ordinary copies of the Grunt’h, are enume¬ 
rated below. 

1. Kubeer (the well-known 

reformer). 

2. Treelotchun, a Brahmin. 

3. Behnee. 

4. Rao Das, a Chumar, or 

leather dresser. 

5. Nam Deo, a Cheepa, or 

cloth printer. 

6. Dhunna, a Jat. 

7. Shekh Furreed, a Maho¬ 

metan peer or saint. 

8. Jeideo, a Brahmin. 

9. Bheekun. 

10. Sen, a barber. 

11. Peepa (a Joghee ?). 

12. Sudhna, a butcher. 

5th. “ The Bhog .” In Sanscrit this word means to enjoy 
any thing, but it is commonly used to denote the conclusion 
of any sacred writing, both by Hindoos and Sikhs. The 
Bhog occupies about 66 pages, and besides the writings of 
Nanuk and Arjoon, of Kubeer, Shekh Furreed, and other 
reformers, it contains the compositions of nine Bhats or 
rhapsodists who attached themselves to Ummer Das, Ram 
Das, and Arjoon. 

The Bhog commences with four sloks in Sanscrit by Na¬ 
nuk, which are followed by 67 Sanscrit sloks in one metre 
by Arjoon, and then by 24 in another metre by the same 
Gooroo. There are also 23 sloks in Punjabee or Hindee by 


13. Ramanund Byraghee (a 

well-known reformer). 

14. Purmanund. 

15. Soor Das (a blind man). 

16. Meeran Baee, a Bhug- 

gutnee, or holy woman. 

17. Bulwund, and 

18. Sutta,“Dorns ” or chan¬ 

ters who recited before 
Arjoon. 

19. Soonder Das, Rubabee, 

or player upon a string¬ 
ed instrument. He is 
not properly one of the 
Bhugguts. 


App. XVII.] 


371 


THE “ADEE GRUNT’h.” 

Arjoon, which contain praises of Amritsir. These are soon 
followed by 243 sloks by Kubeer, and 130 by Shekh Fur- 
reed, and others, containing some sayings of Arjoon. Af¬ 
terwards the writings of Kull and the other Bhats follow, 
intermixed with portions by Arjoon, and so on to the end. 

The nine Bhats who contributed to the Bhog are named 
as follows: — 

1. Bhikha, a follower of 

Ummer Das. 

2. Kull, a follower of Ram 

Das. 

3. Kull Suhar. 

4. Jalup, a follower of 

Arjoon. 

The names are evidently fanciful, and perhaps fictitious. 
In the book called the (i Gooroo Bilas ” eight Bh&ts only are 
enumerated, and all the names except Bull are different from 
those in the Grunt’h. 

Supplement of the Grunt'h. 

6th. “ Bhog ha Baneef or, Epilogue of the Conclusion. It 
comprises about seven pages, and contains, first, some preli¬ 
minary sloks, called i( Slok Meihl Peihla,” or. Hymn of the 
first Woman or Slave ; secondly , Nanuk’s Admonition to Mulhar 
Raja ; thirdly , the “ Ruttun Mala ” of Nanuk, i. e. the Rosary 
of Jewels, or string of (religious) worthies, which simply 
shows, however, what should be the true characteristics or 
qualities of religious devotees ; a xA, fourthly, the “ Hukeekut,” 
or, Circumstances of Sivnab, Raja of Ceylon, with reference 
to a Cf Potee ” or sacred writing known as c< Pran Singhlee.” 
This last is said to have been composed by one Bhaee Bhunnoo 
in the time of Govind. 

The Ruttun Mala is said to have been originally written 
in Toorkee, or to have been abstracted from a Toorkee 
original. 


5. Sull, a follower of Ar¬ 

joon. 

6. Null. 

7. Muthra. 

8. Bull. 

0. Keerit. 


B B 2 


372 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apf. XYIII. 


APPENDIX XYIII. 


THE “DUSWEN PADSHAH KA GRUNT’H,” OR, BOOK OF 

THE TENTH KING, OR SOVEREIGN PONTIFF, THAT IS, 

OF GOOROO GOVIND SINGH. 

Note. —Like the “ Adee Grunt’h,” the book of Govind is 
metrical throughout, but the versification frequently varies. 

It is written in the Hindee dialect, and in the Punjabee 
character, excepting the concluding portion, the language of 
which is Persian, while the alphabet continues the Goor- 
mookhee. The Hindee of Govind is almost such as is spoken 
in the Gangetic provinces, and has few peculiarities of the 
Punjabee dialect. 

One chapter of the Book of the Tenth King may be con¬ 
sidered to be narrative and historical, viz . the “ Vichitr 
Natuk,” written by Govind himself; but the Persian 
“ Hikayuts,” or stories, also partake of that character, from 
the circumstances attending their composition and the nature 
of some allusions made in them. The other portions of this 
Grunt’h are more mythological than the first book, and it 
also partakes more of a worldly character throughout, 
although it contains many noble allusions to the unity of the 
Godhead, and to the greatness and goodness of the Ruler of 
the Universe. 

Five chapters, or portions only, and the commencement of 
a sixth, are attributed to Govind himself; the remainder, 
i. e. by far the larger portion, is said to have been composed 
by four scribes in the service of the Gooroo ; partly, perhaps, 
agreeably to his dictation. The names of Sham and Ram 
occur as two of the writers, but, in truth, little is known of 
the authorship of the portions in question. 

The “ Duswen Padshah ka Grunt’h” forms a quarto 
volume of 1,066 pages, each page consisting of 23 lines, and 
each line of from 38 to 41 letters. 


Apr. XVIII.] THE “ DUSWEN PADSHAH KA GRUNT’h.” 373 


Contents of the Book of the Tenth King. 

1st. “ The Japjeef or, simply, the “Jap,” the supplement 
or complement of the “Jupjee” of Nanuk,—a prayer to 
be read or repeated in the morning, as it continues to be by 
pious Sikhs. It comprises 198 distichs, and occupies about 
seven pages, the termination of a verse and the end of a line 
not being the same. The Jupjee was composed by Gooroo 
Govind. 

2d. “ Akal Stootf or, the Praises of the Almighty, — a 
hymn commonly read in the morning. It occupies 23 pages, 
and the initiatory verse alone is the composition of Govind. 

3d. “ The Vichitr Ndtukf i. e. the Wondrous Tale. This 
was written by Govind himself, and it gives, first, the mytho¬ 
logical history of his family or race ; secondly , an account of 
his mission of reformation; and, thirdly , a description of his 
warfare with the Himalayan chiefs and the Imperial forces. 
It is divided into fourteen sections; but the first is devoted 
to the praises of the Almighty, and the last is of a similar 
tenor, with an addition to the effect that he would hereafter 
relate his visions of the past and his experience of the present 
world. The Vichitr Natuk occupies about 24 pages of the 
Grunt’h. 

4th. “Chundee Churitrf or, the Wonders of Chundee or the 
Goddess. There are two portions called Chundee Churitr, 
of which this is considered the greater. It relates the de¬ 
struction of eight Titans or Deityas by Chundee the Goddess. 
It occupies about 20 pages, and it is understood to be the 
translation of a Sanscrit legend, executed, some are willing 
to believe, by Govind himself. 

The names of the Deityas destroyed are as follows : — 

1. Mudhoo Keitub. 6. Rukt Beej. 

2. Meih Khasoor. 7. Nishoonbh. 

3. Dhoomur Lotchun. 8. Shoonbh. 

4. and 5. Chund and Moond. 


B b 3 


374 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. XVIII. 


5th. “ Chundee Churitr ” the lesser. The same legends as 
the greater Chundee, narrated in a different metre. It occu¬ 
pies about 14 pages. 

6th. “ Chundee kee Var.” A supplement to the legends of 
Chundee. It occupies about six pages. 

7th. Cf Glieian Pribodli ,” or, the Excellence of Wisdom. 
Praises of the Almighty, with allusions to ancient kings, 
taken mostly from the Muhabharut. It occupies about 21 
pages. 

8th. “ Chowpeian Chowbees Owtdran Keean ,” or. Quatrains 
relating to the Twenty-four Manifestations (Owtars or 
Avatars). These “ Chowpeys” occupy about 348 pages, and 
they are considered to be the work of one by name Sham. 

The names of the incarnations are as follows : — 


1. The fish, or Much’h. 

2. The tortoise, or Kuch’h. 

3. The lion, or Nurr. 

4. Nurayen. 

5. Mohunee. 

6. The boar, or Varah. 

7. The man-lion, or Nur- 

singh. 

8. The dwarf, or B&wun. 

9. Purs Ram. 

10. Bruhma. 

11. Roodr. 

12. Jalundhur. 

13. Vishnoo. 

14. (No name specified, but 

understood to be a 
manifestation of Vish¬ 
noo.) 

15. Arhunt Deo (considered 

to be the founder of 


the sect of Seraoghees 
of the Jein persuasion, 
or, indeed, the great 
Jein prophet himself. 

16. Mun Raja. 

17. Dhununtur (the doctor, 

or physician). 

18. The sun, or Sooruj. 

19. The moon, or Chunder- 

mah. 

20. Rama. 

21. Krishna. 

22. Nur (meaning Arioon). 

23. Bodha. 

24. Kulkee; to appear at 

the end of the Kul- 
yoog, or when the sins 
of men are at their 
height. 


9th. (No name entered, but known as) " Mehdee Meer .” A 


App. XVIII.] THE “ DUS WEN PADSHAH KA GRUNT’H.” 3J 5 

supplement to the Twenty-four Incarnations. Mehdee it is 
said will appear when the mission of Kulkee is fulfilled. The 
name and the idea are borrowed from the Sheea Mahome¬ 
tans. It occupies somewhat less than a page. 

10th. (No name entered, but known as) " the Owtars of 
Bruhma .” An account of seven incarnations of Bruhma, 
followed by some account of eight Rajas of bygone times. It 
occupies about 18 pages. 

The names of the incarnations are as follows: — 


1. Yalmeek. 

2. Kushup. 

3. Shookur. 

4. Batchess. 


5. Yeias (Yyasa). 

6. K’husht Rikhee (or the 

Six Sages). 

7. Kul Das. 


The kings are enumerated below — 


1. Mun. 

2. Pirth. 

3. Suggur. 

4. Ben. 


5. Mandhata. 

6. Dhuleep. 

7. Rugh. 

8. Uj. 


11th. (No name entered, but known as) “ j the Owtars of 
Roodr or Siva.” It comprises 56 pages; and two incarna¬ 
tions only are mentioned, namely, Dutt and Parisnath. 

12th. tfC Shustr Nam Malaf or, the Name-string of Wea¬ 
pons. The names of the various weapons are recapitulated, 
the weapons are praised, and Govind terms them collectively 
his Gooroo or guide. The composition nevertheless is not 
attributed to Govind. It occupies about 68 pages. 

13th. “ Sree Mookh Vak , Suweia Buteesf or, the Voice of 
the Gooroo (Govind) himself, in thirty-two verses. These 
verses were composed by Govind as declared, and they are 
condemnatory of the Yeds, the Poorans, and the Koran. 
They occupy about 3J pages. 

14th. “ Huzareh Shubd ,” or, the Thousand Versfes of the 
Metre called Shubd. There are, however, but ten verses 


B B 4 


376 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XYIII. 


only in most Grunt’hs, occupying about two pages. Huzar 
is not understood in its literal sense of a thousand, but as im¬ 
plying invaluable or excellent. They are laudatory of the 
Creator and creation, and deprecate the adoration of saints 
and limitary divinities. They were written by Gooroo 
Govind. 

15th. “ Istree Churitr ,” or. Tales of Women. There are 404 
stories, illustrative of the character and disposition of women. 
A stepmother became enamored of her stepson, the heir of 
a monarchy, who, however, would not gratify her desires, 
whereupon she represented to her husband that his first-born 
had made attempts upon her honor. The Raja ordered his 
son to be put to death; but his ministers interfered, and pro¬ 
cured a respite. They then enlarged in a series of stories 
upon the nature of women, and at length the Raja became 
sensible of the guilt of his wife’s mind, and of his own rash¬ 
ness. These stories occupy 446 pages, or nearly half of the 
Grunt’h. The name of Sham also occurs as the writer of 
one or more of them. 

16th. The 6t Hikayuts ” or Tales. These comprise twelve 
stories in 866 sloks of two lines each. They are written in the 
Persian language and Goormookhee character, and they were 
composed by Govind himself as admonitory of Aurungzeb, 
and were sent to the emperor by th^ hands of Deia Singh 
and four other Sikhs. The tales were accompanied by a 
letter written in a pointed manner, which, however, does not 
form a portion of the Grunt’h. 

These tales occupy about 30 pages, and conclude the 
Grunt’h of Gooroo Govind. 


Apr. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 


377 


APPENDIX XIX. 

SOME PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF AND PRACTICE, AS EXEM¬ 
PLIFIED IN THE OPINIONS OF THE SIKH GOOROOS OR 
TEACHERS. 

With an Addendum, showing the modes in which the missions of Nanuk 
and Govind are represented or regarded by the Sikhs. 


1. God—the Godhead. 

The True Name is God; without fear, without enmity; the 
Being without Death, the Giver of Salvation; the 
Gooroo and Grace. 

Remember the primal Truth; Truth which w T as before the 
world began, 

Truth which is, and Truth, O Nanuk! which will remain. 

By reflection it cannot be understood, if times innumerable 
it be considered. 

By meditation it cannot be attained, how much soever the 
attention be fixed. 

A hundred wisdoms, even a hundred thousand, not one ac¬ 
companies the dead. 

How can Truth be told, how can falsehood be unravelled ? 

O N&nuk! by following the will of God, as by Him or¬ 
dained. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt' A, Jupjee, (commencement of). 

One, Self-existent, Himself the Creator. 

O Nanuk! one continueth, another never was and never 
will be. NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h, Gowree Rag. 

Thou art in each thing, and in all places. 

O God! thou art the one Existent Being. 

Ram Das, Adee Grunt'h , Assa Rag. 


378 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. XIX. 


My mind dwells upon One, 

He who gave the Soul and the body. 

Arjoon, Adee Gruntli, Sree Rag. 

Time is the only God; the First and the Last, the Endless 
Being; the Creator, the Destroyer; He who can 
make and unmake. 

God who created Angels and Demons, who created the East 
and the West, the North and the South, How can 
He be expressed by words ? 

Govind, Huzareh Shubd. 

God is one image (or Being), how can He be conceived in 
another form ? Govind, Vichitr Natuk. 


2. Incarnations, Saints, and Prophets; the Hindoo Oictars 
( Avatars ), Mahomet, and Siddhs, and Peers. 


Numerous Mahomets have there been, and multitudes of 
Bruhmas, Vishnoos, and Sivas, 

Thousands of Peers and Prophets, and tens of thousands of 
Saints and Holy men: 

But the Chief of Lords is the One Lord, the true Name of 
God. 

O Nanuk! of God, His qualities, without end, beyond reckon¬ 
ing, who can understand ? 

Nanuk, Ruttun Mala, (Extra to the Grunt’h). 

Many Bruhmas wearied themselves with the study of the 
Yeds, but found not the value of an oil seed. 

Holy men and Saints sought about anxiously, but they were 
deceived by Maya. 

There have been, and there have passed away, ten regent 
Owtars and the wondrous Muhadeo. 

Even they, wearied with the application of ashes, could not 
find Thee. Arjoon, Adee Gruntil, Soohee. 


Apf. xix.j principles oe BELIEF, ETC. 379 

Soors and Siddhs and the Deotas of Siva; Shekhs and Peers 
and men of might, 

Have come and have gone, and others are likewise passing by. 

Arjoon, Adee Grunt’h, Sree Pag. 

Krishna indeed slew demons; he performed wonders, and 
he declared himself to be Bruhm; yet he should not be re¬ 
garded as the Lord. He himself died; How can he save 
those who put faith in him? How can one sunk in the 
ocean sustain another above the waves ? God alone is all- 
powerful : He can create, and He can destroy. 

Govind, Huzareh Shubd. 


God, without friends, without enemies, 

Who heeds not praise, nor is moved by curses, 

How could He become manifest as Krishna ? 

How could He, without parents, without offspring, become 
born to a “ Devkee ? ” Govind, Huzareh Shubd . 

Ram and Ruheem* (names repeated) cannot give salvation. 
Bruhma, Yishnoo and Siva, the Sun and the Moon, all are in 
the power of Death. Govind, Huzareh Shubd . 


3. The Sikh Gooroos not to be worshipped . 


He who speaks of me as the Lord, 

Him will I sink into the pit of Hell! 

Consider me as the slave of God: 

Of that have no doubt in thy mind. 

I am but the slave of the Lord, 

Come to behold the wonders of Creation. 

Govind, Vichitr Natuk. 


* The Merciful, i. e. the God of the Mahometans. 


380 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. XIX. 


4. Images , and the Worship of Saints. 

Worship not another (than God); bow not to the Dead. 

Nanuk, Adee Grunt'h } Sort Raginee. 

To worship an image, to make pilgrimages to a shrine, to 
remain in a desert and yet to have the mind impure, is all 
in vain, and thus thou canst not be accepted. To be saved 
thou must worship Truth (God). 

Nanuk, Adee Grunt'h, Bhog ; in which, however, 
he professes to quote a learned Brahmin. 

Man, who is a beast of the field, cannot comprehend Him 
whose power is of the Past, the Present, and the Future. 

God is worshipped, that by worship salvation may be at¬ 
tained. 

Fall at the feet of God; in senseless stone God is not. 

Govind, Vichitr Natuk. 


5. Miracles. 

To possess the power of a Siddhee, (or changer of shapes,) 
To be as a Ridhee, (or giver away of never-ending stores,) 
And yet to be ignorant of God, I do not desire. 

All such things are vain. 

Nanuk, Adee Grunt'h, Sree Rag. 

Dwell thou in flames uninjured, 

Remain unharmed amid ice eternal, 

Make blocks of stone thy daily food. 

Spurn the Earth before thee with thy foot, 

Weigh the Heavens in a balance; 

And then ask of me to perform miracles. 

NAnuk, to a challenger about miracles; 
Adee Grunt'h, Maj Var. 


App. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 


381 


6. Transmigration. 

Life is like the wheel circling on its pivot, 

O Nanuk! of going and coming there is no end. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h, Assa. (Numerous 
other passages of a like kind might be 
quoted from Nanuk and his successors.) 

He who knows not the One God 
Will be born again times innumerable. 

Goyind, Mehdee Meer . 


7. Faith . 

Eat and clothe thyself, and thou may’st be happy; 
But without fear and faith there is no salvation. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h , Sohila Maroo Bag. 


8. Grace . 

O N&nuk ! he, on whom God looks, finds the Lord. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h, Assa Bag. 

O Nanuk! he, on whom God looks, will fix his mind on the 
Lord. Ummer Das, Adee Grunt'h, Bilawul. 


9. Predestination . 

According to the fate of each, dependent on his actions, 
are his coming and going determined. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h, Assa. 


382 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XIX. 


How can Truth be told ? how can falsehood be unravelled ? 
O Nanuk ! by following the will of God, as by Him or¬ 
dained. Nanuk, Adee Grunth, Jupjee. 


10. The Veds } the Poorans , and the Koran . 

Potees, Simruts, Yeds, Poorans, 

Are all as nothing, if unleavened by God. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunth , Gowree Rag. 

Give ear to Shasters and Yeds and Korans, 

And thou may’st reach “ Swurg and Nurk.” 

(u e. to the necessity of coming back again.) 
Without God, salvation is unattainable. 

NAnuk, Ruttun Mala , (an Extra book 
of the Adee Grunt’h.) 

Since he fell at the feet of God, no one has appeared great in 
his eyes. 

Ram and Ruheem, the Poorans, and the Koran, have many 
votaries, but neither does he regard. 

Simruts, Shasters, and Yeds, differ in many things; not one 
does he heed. 

O God! under Thy favor has all been done; nought is of 
myself. Govind, Reih Ras. 


11. Asceticism . 

A householder* who does no evil, 

Who is ever intent upon good. 

Who continually exerciseth charity, 

Such a householder is pure as the Ganges. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunth , Ramkullee Raginee. 

* i. e. in English idiom, one of the laity; one who fulfils the ordinary duties 
of life. 


383 


Afp. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 

Householders and Hermits are equal, whoever calls on the name 
of the Lord. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt'll , Assa Raginee. 

Be (( Oodas” (i. e. disinterested) in thy mind in the midst of 
householdership. 

Ummer Das, Adee Grunt'h, Sree Rag. 


12. Caste. 


Think not of race, abase thyself, and attain to salvation. 

Nanuk, Adee Grunt'h, Sarung Rag. 

God will not ask man of his birth. 

He will ask him what has he done. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h , Purbhatee Raginee. 

Of the impure among the noblest 
Heed not the injunction; 

Of one pure among the most despised 
Ranuk will become the footstool. 

NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h , Mulhar Rag. 

All say that there are four races. 

But all are of the seed of Bruhm. 

The w r orld is but clay. 

And of similar clay many pots are made. 

Nanuk says man will be judged by his actions, 

And that without finding God there will be no salvation. 
The body of man is composed of the five elements ; 

Who can say that one is high and another low ? 

Ummer Das, Adee Grunt'h , Bheiruv. 


384 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XIX. 


I will make the four races of one color, 

I will cause them to remember the words “ Wah Gooroo.” 

Govind, in the Rehet Nameh, which, however, 
is not included in the Grunt’h. 


13. Food. 


O Nanuk! the right of strangers is the one the Ox, and 
the other the Swine. 

Gooroos and Peers will bear witness to their disciples when 
they eat naught which hath enjoyed life. 

Nanuk, Adee Grunt'h , Maj. 

An animal slain without cause cannot be proper food. 

O Nanuk! from evil doth evil ever come. 

Nanuk, Adee Grunt'h , Maj. 


14. Brahmins , Saints , Sfc. 


That Brahmin is a son of Bruhm, 

Whose rules of action are devotion, prayer, and purity; 
Whose principles of faith are humility, and contentment. 
Such a Brahmin may break prescribed rules, and yet find 
salvation. Nanuk, Adee Grunfh, Bhog. 

The cotton* should be mercy, the thread contentedness, and 
the seven knots virtue. 

If there is such a “ Juneeoo” of the heart, wear it; 


Viz. the cotton of the Brahminical thread, or juneeoo. 


Apr. XIX.] 


PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 


385 


It will neither break, nor burn, nor decay, nor become impure. 
O Nanuk! he who wears such a thread is to be numbered 
with the holy. Nanuk, Adee Grunt'h , Assa. 


Devotion is not in the Kinta (or ragged garment), nor in 
the Dunda (or staff), nor in Bhusm (or ashes), nor in the 
shaven head (Moondee), nor in the sounding of horns (Singheh 
weieh). NAnuk, Adee Grunt'h, Soohee. 

In this age few Brahmins are of Bruhm (i. e. are pure and 
holy). Ummer Das, Adee Grunt'h, Bilawul. 


The Soonyassee should consider his home the jungle. 

His heart should not yearn after material forms: 

Gheian (or Truth) should be his Gooroo. 

His Yiboot (or ashes) should be the name of God, 

And he should neither be held to be “ Sut-joonee,” nor 
“ Ruj-joonee,” nor “ Tumuh-joonee ” (that is, 
should neither seem good for his own profit only, 
nor good or bad as seemed expedient at the time, 
nor bad that he might thereby gain his ends). 

Govind, Huzarek Shubd. 


15. Infanticide. 


--With the slayers of daughters 

Whoever has intercourse, him do I curse. 

And again,— 

Whosoever takes food from the slayers of daughters, 
Shall die unabsolved. 

Govind, Rehet Nameh. (Extra to the Grunt’h.) 


C C 



386 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apf. XIX. 


16. Suttee, 

They are not Suttees who perish in the flames. 

O Nanuk ! Suttees are those who die of a broken heart. 

And again, — 

The loving wife perishes with the body of her husband. 

But were her thoughts bent upon God, her sorrows would be 
alleviated. Ummer Das, Adee Grunfh , Soohee. 


Addendum. 

Bhaee Goordas Bhulletis mode of representing the Mission of 

Nanuk . 


There were four races and four creeds* in the world among 
Hindoos and Mahometans; 

Selfishness, jealousy, and pride drew all of them strongly: 

The Hindoos dwelt on Benares and the Ganges, the Maho¬ 
metans on the Kaaba; 

The Mahometans held by circumcision, the Hindoos by 
strings and frontal marks. 

They each called on Bam and Buheem, one name, and yet 
both forgot the road. 

Forgetting the Yeds and the Koran, they were inveigled in 
the snares of the world. 

Truth remained on one side, while Moollas and Brahmins 
disputed, 

And Salvation was not attained. 


* The four races of Syeds, Shekhs, Moghuls, and Puthans, are here termed as 
of four creeds, and likened to the four castes or races of the Hindoos. It is, 
indeed, a common saying that such a thing is “ huram-i-char Muzhub,” or 
forbidden among the four faiths or sects of Mahometans. [Originally the expres¬ 
sion had reference to the four orthodox schools of Soonees, formed by the 
expounders Aboo Huneefa, Hunbul, Shafei, and Malik, and it still has such an 
application among the learned, but the commonalty of India understand it to 
apply to the four castes or races into which they have divided themselves.] 


App. XIX.] 


PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 


387 


***** 

***** 

God heard the complaint (of virtue or truth), and Nanuk was 
sent into the world. 

He established the eustom that the disciple should wash the 
feet of his Gooroo, and drink the water; 

Par Bruhm and Poorun Bruhm, in this Kulyoog, he showed 
were one, 

The four Feet (of the animal sustaining the world) were 
made of Faith; the four castes were made one; 
The high and the low became equal; the salutation of the 
feet (among disciples) he established in the world*: 
Contrary to the nature of man, the feet were exalted above 
the head. 

In the Kulyoog he gave salvation: using the only true Name, 
he taught men to worship the Lord. 

To give salvation in the Kulyoog Gooroo Nanuk came. 

Note. — The above extracts, and several others from the 
book of Bhaee Goordas, may be seen in Malcolm’s “ Sketch 
of the Sikhs,” p. 152. &c.; rendered, however, in a less 
literal manner than has here been attempted. 

The book contains forty chapters, written in different kinds 
of verse, and it is the repositary of many stories about Nanuk 
which the Sikhs delight to repeat. One of these is as 
follows: — 

Nanuk again went to Mecca; blue clothing he wore, like 
Krishna; 

A staff in his hand, a book by his side; the pot, the cup, and 
the mat, he also took : 

He sat where the Pilgrims completed the final act of their 
pilgrimage, 

And when he slept at night he lay with his feet towards the 
front. 

Jeewun struck him with his foot, saying, “ Ho ! what infidel 
sleeps here, 


The Akalees still follow this custom, 
c c 2 


388 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XIX. 


With his feet towards the Lord, like an evil doer ? ” 

— Seizing him by the leg, he drew him aside; then Mecca 
also turned, and a miracle was declared. 

All were astonished, &c., &c. 


Gooroo Govincts mode of representing his Mission . (From the 
Vichitr Natuk, with an extract from the Twenty-four 
Incarnations, regarding the last Avatar and the succeeding 
Mehdee Meer.) 

Note. — The first four chapters are occupied with a mytho¬ 
logical account of the Sodhee and Behdee subdivisions of the 
Kshutree race, the rulers of the Punjab at Lahore and 
Kussoor, and the descendants of Low and Koosoo, the sons 
of Ram, who traced his descent through Dusruth, Rughoo, 
Sooruj, and others, to Kalsen, a primeval monarch. So far 
as regards the present object, the contents may be summed 
up in the promise or prophecy, that in the Kulyoog Nanuk 
would bestow blessings on the Sodhees, and would, on his 
fourth mortal appearance, become one of that tribe.* 

Chapter V. (abstract). — The Brahmins began to follow 
the ways of Soodras, and Kshutrees of Yeisyas, and, simi¬ 
larly, the Soodras did as Brahmins, and the Yeisyas as Kshu¬ 
trees. In the fulness of time Nanuk came and established 
his own sect in the world. He died, but he was born again 
as Unggud, and a third time as Ummer Das, and at last 
he appeared as Ram Das, as had been declared, and the 
Goorooship became inherent in the Sodhees. Nanuk thus 
put on other habiliments, as one lamp is lighted at another. 
Apparently there were four Gooroos, but, in truth, in each 
body there was the soul of Gooroo Nanuk. When Ram 
Das departed, his son Arjoon became Gooroo, who was fol¬ 
lowed successively by Hur Govind, Hur Raee, Hur Kishen, 
and Tegh Buhadur, who gave his life for his faith in Delhi, 
having been put to death by the Mahometans. 


Compare the translations given in Malcolm’s Sketch, p. 174, &c. 


App. XIX.] govind’s representation of his mission.389 

Chapter VI. (abstract). — In the. Bheem Khoond, near 
the Seven Shuringhee (or Peaks), where the Pandoos exer¬ 
cised sovereignty, (the unembodied soul of) Gooroo Govind 
Singh implored the Almighty, and became absorbed in the 
Divine essence (or obtained salvation without the necessity of 
again appearing on earth). Likewise the parents of the 
Gooroo prayed to the Lord continually. God looked on 
them with favor, and (the soul of) Govind was called 
from the Seven Peaks to become one of mankind. 

/ 

Then my wish was not to reappear. 

For my thoughts were bent upon the feet of the Almighty; 
But God made known to me his desires. 

The Lord said, “ When mankind was created, the Deityas 
were sent for the punishment of the wicked, but the Deityas 
being strong, forgot me their God. Then the Deotas were 
sent, but they caused themselves to be worshipped by men 
as Siva, and Brumha, and Vishnoo. The Sidhs were after¬ 
wards born, but they, following different ways, established 
many sects. Afterwards Gorukhnath appeared in the world, 
and he, making many kings his disciples, established the sect 
of Joghees. Ramanund then came into the world, and he 
established the sect of Byraghees after his own fashion. 
Muhadeen (Mahomet) too was born, and became lord of 
Arabia. He established a sect, and required his followers 
to repeat his name. Thus, they who were sent to guide 
mankind, perversely adopted modes of their own, and 
misled the world. None taught the right way to the 
ignorant; wherefore thou, O Govind ! hast been called, that 
thou mayst propagate the worship of the One True God, 
and guide those who have lost the road.” Hence I, Govind, 
have come into the world, and have established a sect, and 
have laid down its customs; but whosoever regards me as the 
Lord shall be dashed into the pit of hell, for 1 am but as 
other men, a beholder of the wonders of creation. 

[Govind goes on to declare that he regarded the religions 
of the Hindoos and Mahometans as naught; that Joghees, 

c c 3 


390 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XIX. 


and the readers of Kornas and Poorans, were but deceivers; 
that no faith was to be put in the worship of images and 
stones. All religions, he says, had become corrupt; the 
Soonyassee and Byraghee equally showed the wrong way, 
and the modes of worship of Brahmins and Kshutrees and 
others were idle and vain. “All shall pass into hell, for 
God is not in books and scriptures, but in humility and truth¬ 
fulness.” 

The subsequent chapters, to the 13th inclusive, relate the 
wars in which Govind was engaged with the Kajas of the 
hills and the imperial forces.] 

Chapter XIV (abstract).—O God ! thou who hast always 
preserved thy worshippers from evil, and hast inflicted pu¬ 
nishment on the wicked ; who hast regarded me as thy 
devoted slave and hast served me with thine own hand, now 
all that I have beheld, and all thy glories which I have wit¬ 
nessed, will I faithfully relate. What I beheld in the former 
world, by the blessing of God will I make known. In all 
my undertakings the goodness of the Lord hath been showered 
upon me. Loh (iron) has been my preserver. Through the 
goodness of God have I been strong, and all that I have seen 
during the various ages will I put in a book; every thing 
shall be fully made known. 

Extract from the Twenty-four Avatars. 

Kulkee , (conclusion of). — Kulkee at last became strong 
and proud, and the Lord was displeased, and created another 
Being. Mehdee Meer was created, great and powerful, who 
destroyed Kulkee, and became master of the world. All is 
in the hands of God. In this manner passed away the 
twenty-four manifestations. 

Mehdee Meer. — In such manner was Kulkee destroyed, 
but God manifests himself at all times, and at the end of the 
Kulyoog, all will be his own. * When Mehdee Meer had 
vanquished the world he became raised up in his mind. He 
assumed to himself the crown of greatness and power, and 


Nij jot, jot suman. 


Arp. XX.] ADMONITORY LETTERS OF NANUK. 


391 


all bowed to him. He regarded himself as supreme. He 
thought not of God, but considered himself to be in all things 
and to exist everywhere. Then the Almighty seized the 
fool. God is One. He is without a second. He is every¬ 
where, in the water and under the earth. He who knows 
not the One God, will be born again times innumerable. In 
the end God took away the power of Mehdee Meer, and 
destroyed him utterly. 

A creeping worm did the Lord create; 

By the ear of Mehdee it went and stayed: 

The worm entered by his ear. 

And he was wholly subdued. 


APPENDIX XX. 

THE ADMONITORY LETTERS OF NANUK TO THE FABULOUS 
MONARCH KARON ; AND THE PRESCRIPTIVE LETTERS 
OF GOVIND FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE SIKHS. 

Note. — Two letters to Karon are attributed to Nanuk. 
The first is styled the “ Nusseeut Nameh,” or Letter of Ad¬ 
monition and Advice. The second is styled simply the 
“ Reply of Nanuk,” and professes to be spoken. Karon 
may possibly be a corruption of Haroon, the e Haroun el 
Raschid’ of European and Asiatic fame. Both compositions 
are of course fabulous as regards Nanuk, and appear to be 
the compositions of the commencement or middle of the last 
century. 

The two letters of Govind are termed the “ Rehet 
Nameh ” and the “ Tunkha Nameh,” or the Letter of Rules 

c c 4 



392 


HISTORY OF THE. SIKHS. 


[App. XX. 


and the Letter of Fines respectively; and while they are 
adapted for general guidance, they profess to have been 
drawn up in reply to questions put by individuals, or for the 
satisfaction of particular inquirers. There is no evidence 
that they were composed by Govind himself; but they may 
be held to represent his views and the principles of Sikhism. 

1. The Nusseent Nameh of Nanuk, or the Letter to Karon , 
the Mighty Prince , possessing forty Capital Cities replenished 
with Treasure. (Extracts from.) 

Alone man comes, alone he goes. 

When he departs naught will avail him (or bear him 
witness). 

When the reckoning is taken, what answer will he give ? 

If then only he repents, he shall be punished. 

* # * * * 

* * * * # 

Karon paid no devotions; he kept not faith: 

The world exclaimed he ruled not justly. 

He was called a Euler, but he governed not well. 

For the pleasures of the world ensnared him. 

He plundered the earth: hell-fire shall torment him. 
***** 
***** 

Man should do good, so that he be not ashamed. 

Kepent — and oppress not. 

Otherwise hell-fire shall seize thee, even in the grave. 
***** 

Holy men, Prophets, Shahs, and Khans, 

The mark of not one remaineth in the world; 

For man is but as the passing shade of the flying bird. 

***** 

Thou rejoicest in thy Forty Treasures, 

But thou hast not kept faith. 

See, oh people! Karon utterly confounded. 

O Nanuk! pray unto God, and seek God as thy refuge. 


Apr. XX.] ADMONITORY LETTERS OF NANUK. 


893 


2. The Reply of Nanuk to Karon , the Lord of Medina . 

First, Nanuk went to Mecca; 

Medina he afterwards visited. 

The lord of Mecca and Medina, 

Karon, he made his disciple. 

When Nanuk was about to depart, 

Karon, the fortunate, thus spoke: 

Now thou art about to go, 

But when wilt thou return ? 

Then the Gooroo thus answered: 

When I put on my tenth dress 
I shall be called Govind Singh; 

Then shall all Singhs wear their hair; 

They shall accept the “ Pahul ” of the two-edged dagger: 
Then shall the sect of the Khalsa be established; 

Then shall men exclaim, “ Victory, O Gooroo ! ” 

The four races shall become one and the same; 

The five weapons shall be worn by all. 

In the Kulyoog they shall array themselves in vestments of 
blue; 

The name of the Khalsa shall be everywhere. 

In the time of Aurungzeb 
The Wondrous Khalsa shall arise. 

Then shall battles be waged. 

Endless war shall ensue. 

And fighting shall follow year after year. 

They shall place the name of Govind Singh in their hearts; 
Many heads shall be rendered up, 

And the empire of the Khalsa shall prevail. 

First, the Punjab shall become the land of the Sikhs; 

Then other countries shall be theirs; 

Hindostan and the North shall be possessed by them; 

Then the West shall bow to them. 

When they enter Khorassan, 

Caubul and Candahar shall lie low. 

When Iran * has been laid prostrate, 

Mecca shall be beheld. 

And Medina shall be seized. 


Persia. 


394 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XX. 


Mighty shall be the rejoicing, 

And all shall exclaim, “ Hail, Gooroo ! ” 

Unbelievers shall everywhere be destroyed; 

The holy Khalsa shall be exalted; 

Beasts, and birds, and creeping things, shall tremble (in the 
presence of the Lord). 

Men and women shall everywhere call on God. 

The earth, the ocean, and the heavens, shall call on God. 

By calling on the Gooroo shall men be blessed. 

Every faith shall become of the Khalsa ; 

No other religion will remain. 

“ Wah Gooroo” shall everywhere be repeated. 

And Pain and Trouble shall depart. 

In the Kulyoog shall the Kingdom be established 
Which Nanuk received from the Lord. 

Worthless, I fall before God; 

Nanuk, the slave, cannot comprehend the ways of the Lord. 

3. The Rehet Nameh of Gooroo Govind. (Extracts from, 
and abstracts of portions.) 

Written for Durreeaee Oodassee, and repeated to Pruhlad Singh at Up- 
chullunuggur (Nuderh on the Godavery). 

The Gooroo being seated at Upchullunuggur, spake to 
Pruhlad Singh, saying, that through the favor of Nanuk 
there was a sect or faith in the world for which rules (rehet) 
should be established 

A Sikh who puts a cap (topee) * on his head, shall die seven 
deaths of dropsy. 

Whosoever wears a thread round his neck is on the way to 
damnation. 

[It is forbidden to take off the turban (pug) while eating, 
to have intercourse with Meenas, Mussundees, and Kooree- 
mars (children slayers), and to play at chess with women. 

No prayers are to be offered up without using the name of 


* Referring particularly to Hindoo ascetics ; but, perhaps, also to the Maho¬ 
metans, who formerly wore skull-caps alone, and now generally wind their 
turbans round a covering of the kind. The Sikh contempt for either kind of 
“ topee ” has been thrown into the shade by their repugnance, in common with 
all other Indians, to the English cap or hat. 


App. XX.] govtnd’s letters of rules. 


395 


the Gooroo, and he who heeds not the Gooroo, and serves 
not the disciples faithfully, is a Mletcha indeed. 

A Sikh who does not acknowledge the Hookumnameh 
(requisition for benevolences or contributions) of the Gooroo, 
shall fall under displeasure]. 

First the Gooroo (Grunt’h or Book) and Khalsa, which I 
have placed in the world, 

Whosoever denies or betrays either shall be driven forth 
and dashed into hell. 

[It is forbidden to wear clothing dyed with safflower (*. e. of 
a “ Soohee ” colour), to wear charms on the head, to break the 
fast without reciting the Jup (the prayer of Nanuk), to neg¬ 
lect reading prayers in the morning, to take the evening meal 
without reciting the Reih Has, to leave Akal Poorik (the 
Timeless Being), and worship other Gods, to worship stones, 
to make obeisance to any not a Sikh, to forget the Grunt’h, 
and to deceive the Khalsa. 

All Hookumnamehs (calls for tithes or contributions) given 
by the posterity of Nanuk, of Unggud, and of Ummer Das, 
shall be heeded as his own : whosoever disregards them shall 
perish. 

The things which he had placed in the world (viz. the 
Grunt’h and the Khalsa) are to be worshipped. Strange 
Gods are not to be heeded, and the Sikh who forsakes his faith 
shall be punished in the world to come. 

He who worships graves and dead men (“ gor ” and “ mur- 
ree,” referring to Mahometans and Hindoos), or he who 
worships temples (mosques) or stones (images), is not a Sikh. 

The Sikh who makes obeisance or bows down to the wearer 
of a cap (topee) is a resident of hell.] 

Consider the Khalsa as the Gooroo, as the very embodi¬ 
ment of the Gooroo: 

He who wishes to see the Gooroo will find him in the 
Khalsa. 

[Trust not Joghees or Toorks. Kemember the writings of 
the Gooroo only. Regard not the six Dursuns (or systems of 
faith or speculation). Without the Gooroo, all Deities are as 


396 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS 


[Arp. XX. 


naught. The Image of the Almighty is the visible body 
(pruggut deh) of the immortal Khalsa (Akal). The Khalsa 
is everything, other divinities are as sand, which slips through 
the fingers. By the order of God the Punt’h (or sect) of 
Sikhs has been established. All Sikhs must believe the 
Gooroo and the Grunt’h. They should bow to the Grunt’h 
alone. All prayers save the prayers of the Gooroo are idle 
and vain. 

He who gives the “ Pahul ” to another shall reap innumer¬ 
able blessings. He who instructs in the prayers and scrip¬ 
tures of the Gooroos shall attain salvation. Govind will 
reverence the Sikh who chafes the hands and the feet of the 
wearied Sikh traveller. The Sikh who gives food to other 
Sikhs, on him will the Gooroo look with favor. 

Delivered on Thursday the 5th day of the dark phase of 
the Moon of Magh in the Sumbut year 1752 (beginning of 
1696 A. D.). He who heeds these injunctions is a Sikh of 
Gooroo Govind Singh. The orders of the Gooroo are as 
himself. Depend on God.] 


4. The Tunkha Nameh , or Rules of Fines or Restrictions 
on Sikhs. (Abstract of.) 

Written in reply to the question of Bhaee Nund Lai, who had asked 
Gooroo Govind what it was proper for a Sikh to do, and what to re- 
frain from. 

Nund Lai asked, &c.: and the Gooroo replied that such 
were to be the acts of the Sikhs. A Sikh should set his 
heart on God, on charity, and on purity (Nam, Dan, Ish- 
nan). He who in the morning does not repair to some temple, 
or visit some holy man, is greatly to blame. He who does 
not allow the poor a place (in his heart) is to blame. With¬ 
out the favor of God nothing can be accomplished. He 
who bows his head (*. e. humbles himself) after having offered 
up prayers is a man of holiness. Charity (Kurra Prusad, i. e. 
food) should be distributed in singleness of mind to all comers 
equally. Prusad should be prepared of equal parts of flour 
sugar, and butter. The preparer should first bathe, and 


App. XX.] govind’s letters of RULES. 397 

while cooking it he should repeat “Wall Gooroo” continually. 
When ready, the food should be put on a round place. 

The Sikh who wears the (written) charms of the Toorks, 
or who touches iron with his feet, is to be condemned. He 
who wears clothing dyed with safflower (of the colour called 
Soohee), and he who takes snuff (niswar) is to be condemned.* 

He who looks lustfully upon the mother or sister of one of 
the brethren — he who does not bestow his daughter becom¬ 
ingly in marriage — he who takes to himself the property of 
a sister or daughter — he who wears not iron in some shape 
— he who robs or oppresses the poor, and he who makes 
obeisance to a Toork, is to be punished. 

A Sikh should comb his locks, and fold and unfold his 
turban twice a day. Twice also should he wash his mouth. 

One tenth of all goods should be given (in charity) in the 
name of the Gooroo. 

Sikhs should bathe in cold water: they should not break 
their fast until they have repeated the Jup. In the morning, 
Jup, in the evening, Reih Ras, and before retiring to rest, 
Sohila should always be repeated. 

No Sikh should speak false of his neighbor. Promises 
should be carefully fulfilled. 

No Sikh should eat flesh from the hands of the Toorks. 

A Sikh should not delight in women, nor give himself up 
to them. 

The Sikh who calls himself a Sadh (or Holy man) should 
act in strict accordance with his professions. 

A journey should not be undertaken, nor should business 
be set about, nor should food be eaten, without first remem¬ 
bering or calling on God. 

A Sikh should enjoy the society of his own wife only. He 
should not desire other women. 

He who sees a poor man and gives him not something, 
shall not behold the presence of God. 

He who neglects to pray, or who abuses the holy, or who 


* This is the only recorded prohibition against tobacco, to refrain from which 
in every shape is now a rule. The Afghans of Peshawur and Caubul continue 
to take snuff, a practice but little known to the Indians. 


398 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XX. 


gambles, or who listens to those who speak evil of the 
Gooroos, is no Sikh. 

Daily, some portion of what is gained is to be set aside in 
the name of the Lord, but all business must be carried on 
in sincerity and truth. 

Flame should not be extinguished with the breath, nor 
should fire be put out with water, a portion of which has been 
drunk. 

Before meals the name of the Gooroo should be repeated. 
The society of prostitutes is to be avoided, nor is adultery to 
be committed with the wife of another. The Gooroo is not 
to be forsaken, and others followed. No Sikh should expose 
his person; he should not bathe in a state of nudity, nor 
when distributing food should he be naked.* His head should 
always be covered. 

He is of the Khalsa, 

Who speaks evil to none, 

Who combats in the van, 

Who gives in charity, 

Who slays a Khan, 

Who subdues his passions. 

Who burns the “ Kurms,” f 
Who does not yield to superstitions J, 

Who is awake day and night, 

Who delights in the sayings of the Gooroos, 

And who never fears, although often overcome. 
Considering all as created by the Lord, 

Give offence to none, otherwise the Lord will himself be 
offended. 

He is of the Khalsa, 

Who protects the poor, 

Who combats evil, 


* The practices of many Hindoo ascetics are mainly aimed at. 
f t. e. who despises the ceremonial forms of the Brahmins. 

| Hindee, Aan, said to correspond with the meaning of the Arabic Aar,— one 
who does not affect to be in any way protected by Saints or others. The same 
term is applied to the brotherhood or mutual dependence of a chief and his 
followers. 


App. XX.] 


govind’s letters of rules. 


399 


Who remembers God, 

Who achieves greatness*. 

Who is intent upon the Lord, 

Who is wholly unfettered. 

Who mounts the war horse, 

Who is ever waging battle. 

Who is continually armed. 

Who slays the Toorks, 

Who extends the faith. 

And who gives his head with what is upon it. 

The name of God shall be proclaimed; 

No one shall speak against Him; 

The rivers and the mountains shall remember Him; 

All who call upon Him shall be saved. 

O Nund Lai! attend to what is said; 

My own rule will I establish. 

The four races shall be one, 

I will cause all to repeat the prayer of “ Wah Gooroo.” 

The Sikhs of Govind shall bestride horses, and bear hawks 
upon their hands, 

The Toorks who behold them shall fly. 

One shall combat a multitude. 

And the Sikh who thus perishes shall be blessed for ever. 

At the doorway of a Sikh shall wait elephants caparisoned. 
And horsemen with spears, and there shall be music over his 
gateway. 

When myriads of matches burn together. 

Then shall the Khalsa conquer East and West. 

The Khalsa shall rule; none can resist: 

The rebellious shall be destroyed, and the obedient shall have 
favors heaped upon them. 


Literally, who resides in state. 


400 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXI. 


APPENDIX XXI. 

A LIST OF SOME SIKH SECTS OR DENOMINATIONS, 

(In which, however, some Names or Titles not properly distinctive of an 
Order are also inserted.) 


1st. Oodasee. — Founded by Sree Chund, a son of Nanuk. 
The Oodasees were rejected by Ummer Das, as not being 
genuine Sikhs. 

2d. Belidee , founded by Lukshmee Das, another son of 
Nanuk. 

3d. Teeltun , founded by Gooroo Unggud. 

4th. Bhulleh , founded by Gooroo Ummer Das. 

5th. Sodhee, founded by Gooroo Ram Das. 

Note. — The Behdees, Teehuns, Bhullehs, and Sodhees are 
rather Sikhs of the subdivisions of Kshutrees, so called, (i. e. 
of the tribes of certain Gooroos,) than distinct sects. 

6th. Ram Rayee, seceders who adhered to Ram Raee 
when Tegh Buhadur became Gooroo. They have a con¬ 
siderable establishment in the Lower Himalayas, near Hur- 
dwar. 

7th. Bunda-Punt'hee , i. e. of the sect of Bunda, who suc¬ 
ceeded Govind as a temporal leader. 

8th. Mussundee .—Mussund is simply the name of a sub¬ 
division of the Kshutree race; but it is also specially applied 
to the followers of those who resisted Govind; some say as 
adherents of Ram Raee, and others as instigators of the 
Gooroo’s son to opposition. The more common story, how¬ 
ever, is that the Mussunds were the hereditary stewards of 
the household of the several Gooroos, and that they became 
proud and dissipated, but nevertheless arrogated sanctity 


App. XXL] 


SIKH SECTS OR DENOMINATIONS. 


401 


to themselves, and personally ill-used many Sikhs for not 
deferring to them; whereupon Govind, regarding them as 
irreclaimable, expelled them all except two or three. 

9th. Rungret'ha .—Converts of the Sweeper and some other 
inferior castes are so called. (See Note t> p. 69. ante,) 

10th. Rumdasee, i. e . Rao or Raee Dasee.— Sikhs of the 
class of Chumars, or leather-dressers, and who trace to the 
Rao Das, or Raee Das, whose writings are inserted in the 
Grunt’h. 

11th. Muzhubee. — Converts from Mahometanism are so 
called. 

12th. Akalee .—Worshippers of Akal (God), the most 
eminent of the orders of Purists or Ascetics. 

13th. Nihung. — The naked, or pure. 

14th. Nirmulleh. —The sinless. One who has acquired 
this title usually administers the Pahul to others. 

15th. Gheianee, —The wise, or perfect. A term some¬ 
times applied to Sikhs who are at once learned and pious. 

16th. Soothra Shahee . — The true, or pure: said to have 
been founded by one Sootcha, a Brahmin. (See ante, Note §, 
p. 59.) 

17th. Sutcheedaree. — Likewise the true, or pure: the 
founder not ascertained. 

18th. Bhaee, —Literally, brother. The ordinary title of 
all Sikhs who have acquired a name for holiness; and it 
is scarcely the distinctive title of a sect, or even of an 
order. 

To these may perhaps be added bodies of men who attach 
themselves to particular temples, or who claim to have been 
founded by particular disciples of eminence, or by followers 
who obtained any distinctive title from a Gooroo. Thus 
some claim to represent Ram Das , the companion of Nanuk, 
who lived till the time of Arjoon, and who obtained the title 
of “ Boodha,” or Ancient. Also many hereditary musicians 
call themselves Rubabee Sikhs, from the Rubab, or particular 
instrument on which they play; and these affect to regard 
Murdana, the companion of Nanuk, as their founder. Others 

D D 


402 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. XXI. 


are called Deewana , or the Simple or Mad, from one assiduous 
as a collector of the contributions of the faithful for the 
service of the Gooroos, and who, while so employed, placed 
a peacock’s feather in his turban. Another class is called 
Moossuddee (or, perhaps, Mootsuddee, i. e. the clerk or writer 
order), and it is stated to be composed of devotees of the 
Mahometan religion, who have adopted the “ Jup” of Nanuk 
as their rule of faith. The Moossuddees are further said to 
have fixed abodes in the countries westward of the Indus. 


APPENDIX XXII. 


GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE GOOROOS. 


To face page 402 . 


Nanuk. 


( 1 ) 


Sree Chund. 
(“ Oodasees .”) 


( 7 ) 


Earn Raee. 


Lukshmee Das. 
(“ Behdees .”) 
Descendants at 
Nanulc’s 
“ Delira,” on 
the Earee. 


( 2 ) 


Datoo. 

(“ Teehuns.”') 
Descendants 
near Kkuddoor. 


Ummer Das. 


( 3 ) 


Mohree. 

(“ Bhullehs.”') 

‘ Descendants 
near Goindwal. 


G) 


Arjoon. 


(C) 


Hur Govind. 


Goorditta. 


Tegh Bahadur. 


(9) Soorut Singh. Umb Raee. Uttul Raee. 

I 


Hur Raee. 


Hurlrishen. 


Dheennull 


(8) Puhar Chund. 


Govind Singh. 


( 10 ) 


I 


Note. — The names of the Gooroos are in¬ 
cluded in rectangles of continuous lines; and 
the pretenders to apostolical succession to the 
present time are shown in rectangles of waved 
lines. 


( Daughter .) 





Of the “ Sodhee ” 
tribe; married the 
daughter of Ummer 

Das. 


1 


Pirthee Chund. 


Merhban. 


Dheep Chund. 


Ajeet Singh. Joojarh Singh. Futteh Singh. Zorawur Singh 


1 

Golab Raee. Man Singh. 

^ | 

Nahur Singh. Oodeli Singh. Khem Singh. 


Descendants 
at Buttala. 


Nirioon Das. Bhopa. 

I 

Dliunput. 

„ . I 

Golab Singh. 

Sadhoo Singh. 

Alive 1846. 
Of Kurtdrpoor, 
near Jalundhur. 



Muhadeo. 


I I I 

Kurrun Mull. Huijee. Chutterbooj. 


Descendant. 

Kothauuda. 

Sirhind. 


Hur Gopal. 

Goorditta. 

I 

Shama. Jeewun. 

Hur Suhaee. 

Of Kot Hur Sidiaee, 
south of Feerozpoor. 


s at 
near 


Brijender Singh. 

Of Anundpoor-Makhou'al. 














































Arp. XXIII.] TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1806 . 


403 


APPENDIX XXIII. 

THE TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1806. 

'Treaty of Friendship and Unity between the Honorable East 
India Company and the Sirdars Runjeet Singh and Futteh 
Singh. (1st January, 1806.) 

Sirdar Runjeet Singh and Sirdar Futteh Singh have con¬ 
sented to the following articles of agreement, concluded by 
Lieutenant-Colonel John Malcolm, under the special autho¬ 
rity of the Right Honorable Lord Lake, himself duly 
authorized by the Honorable Sir George Hilaro Barlow, 
Bart., Governor General, and Sirdar Futteh Singh, as prin¬ 
cipal on the part of himself, and plenipotentiary on the part 
of Runjeet Singh : — 

Article 1.— Sirdar Runjeet Singh and Sirdar Futteh 
Singh Aloowalla, hereby agree that they will cause Jeswunt 
Rao Holkar to remove with his army to the distance of 
thirty coss from Amrutsir immediately, and will never here¬ 
after hold any further connection with him, or aid or assist 
him with troops, or in any other manner whatever; and they 
further agree that they will not in any way molest such of 
Jeswunt Rao Holkar’s followers or troops as are desirous of 
returning to their homes in the Dekkan, but, on the con¬ 
trary, will render them every assistance in their power for 
carrying such intention into execution. 

Article 2. — The British Government hereby agrees, that 
in case a pacification should not be effected between that 
Government and Jeswunt Rao Holkar, the British army 
shall move from its present encampment, on the banks of the 
river Biah, as soon as Jeswunt Rao Holkar aforesaid shall 
have marched his army to the distance of thirty coss from 
Amrutsir; and that, in any treaty which may hereafter be 


404 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXIY. 


concluded between the British Government and Jeswunt 
Kao Holkar, it shall be stipulated that, immediately after the 
conclusion of the said treaty, Holkar shall evacuate the terri¬ 
tories of the Sikhs, and march towards his own, and that he 
shall in no way whatever injure or destroy such parts of the 
Sikh country as may lie in his route. The British Govern¬ 
ment further agrees that, as long as the said Chieftains, Run- 
jeet Singh and Futteh Singh, abstain from holding any 
friendly connection with the enemies of that Government, or 
from committing any act of hostility on their own parts 
against the said Government, the British armies shall never 
enter the territories of the said Chieftains, nor will the British 
Government form any plans for the seizure or sequestration 
of their possessions or property. 

Dated 1st January, 1806. 


APPENDIX XXIY. 

SIR DAVID OCHTERLONEY’S PROCLAMATION OF 1809. 

Precept or “ Ittillah Nameh ,” under the Seal of General St 
Leger , and under the Seal and Signature of Colonel Och - 
terloney ; written the 9 th of February , 1809, corresponding 
to the 23 d Zee Hijeh , 1223, Hijereh. 

The British army having encamped near the frontiers of 
the Muharaja Runjeet Singh, it has been thought proper to 
signify the pleasure of the British Government, by means of 
this precept, in order to make all the Chiefs of the Muharaja 
acquainted with the sentiments of the British Government, 
which have solely for their object and aim to confirm the 
friendship with the Muharaja, and to prevent any injury to 



App. XXIV.] BRITISH PROCLAMATION OF 1809 . 405 


his country, the preservation of friendship between the two 
States depending on particular conditions which are hereby 
detailed. 

The Thannahs in the fortress of Khur’r, Khan pore, and 
other places on this side of the river Sutlej, which have 
been placed in the hands of the dependents of the Muharaja, 
shall be razed, and the same places restored to their ancient 
possessors. 

The force of cavalry and infantry which may have crossed 
to this side of the Sutlej must be recalled to the other 
side, to the country of the Muharaja. 

The troops stationed at the Ghaut of Philour must march 
thence, and depart to the other side of the river as described, 
and in future the troops of the Muharaja shall never advance 
into the country of the Chiefs situated on this side of the 
river, who have called in for their security and protection 
Thannahs of the British Government; but if in the manner 
that the British have placed Thannahs of moderate number 
on this side of the Sutlej, if in like manner a small force 
by way of Thannah be stationed at the Ghaut of Philour, it 
will not be objected to. 

If the Muharaja persevere in the fulfilment of the above 
stipulations, which he so repeatedly professed to do in pre¬ 
sence of Mr. Metcalfe, such fulfilment will confirm the 
mutual friendship. In case of non-compliance with these 
stipulations, then shall it be plain that the Muharaja has no 
regard for the friendship of the British, but, on the contrary, 
resolves on enmity. In such case the victorious British army 
shall commence every mode of defence. 

The communication of this precept is solely with the view 
of publishing the sentiments of the British, and to know 
those of the Muharaja. The British are confident that the 
Muharaja will consider the contents of this precept as 
abounding to his real advantage, and as affording a conspicu¬ 
ous proof of their friendship; that with their capacity for 
war, they are also intent on peace. 


Note. _The recorded translation of this document has been preserved, al¬ 

though somewhat defective in style. 


D d 3 


406 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[Apr. XXV. 


APPENDIX XXV. 

THE TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1809. 

Treaty between the British Government and the Raja of 
Lahore. (Dated 25th April, 1809.) 

Whereas certain differences which had arisen between the 
British Government and the Raja of Lahore have been hap¬ 
pily and amicably adjusted; and both parties being anxious 
to maintain relations of perfect amity and concord, the 
following articles of treaty, which shall be binding i on the 
heirs and successors of the two parties, have been concluded 
by the Raja Runjeet Singh in person, and by the agency of 
C. T. Metcalfe, Esquire, on the part of the British Govern¬ 
ment. 

Article 1.—Perpetual friendship shall subsist between the 
British Government and the State of Lahore: the latter shall 
be considered, with respect to the former, to be on the footing 
of the most favored powers, and the British Government 
will have no concern with the territories and subjects of the 
Raja to the northward of the river Sutlej. 

Article 2. — The Raja will never maintain in the territory 
which he occupies on the left bank of the river Sutlej 
more troops than are necessary for the internal duties of that 
territory, nor commit or suffer any incroachments on the pos¬ 
sessions or rights of the Chiefs in its vicinity. 

Article 3. — In the event of a violation of any of the pre¬ 
ceding articles, or of a departure from the rules of friendship, 
this treaty shall be considered null and void. 

Article 4. — This treaty, consisting of four articles, having 
been settled and concluded at Amrutsir, on the 25th day of 
April, 1809, Mr. C. T. Metcalfe has delivered to the Raja 
of Lahore a copy of the same in English and Persian, under 


Arp. XXYI.] PROCLAMATION OF PROTECTION. 


407 


his seal and signature; and the Raja has delivered another 
copy of the same under his seal and signature, and Mr. C. T„ 
Metcalfe engages to procure within the space of two months 
a copy of the same, duly ratified by the Right Honorable 
the Governor General in Council, on the receipt of which by 
the Raja, the present treaty shall be deemed complete and 
binding on both parties, and the copy of it now delivered to 
the Raja shall be returned. 


APPENDIX XXYI. 

PROCLAMATION OF PROTECTION TO CIS SUTLEJ STATES 

against Lahore. (Dated, 1809.) 

Translation of an i( Ittilali Nameh,” addressed to the Chiefs of 
the Country of Malwah and Sirhind , on this Side of the 
River Sutlej . (3d May, 1809.) 


It is clearer than the sun, and better proved than the exist¬ 
ence of yesterday, that the marching of a detachment of 
British troops to this side of the river Sutlej was entirely 
at the application and earnest entreaty of the several Chiefs, 
and originated solely from friendly considerations in the 
British Government, to preserve them in their possessions 
and independence. A treaty having been concluded, on the 
25th of April, 1809, between Mr. Metcalfe on the part of the 
British Government, and Muharaja Runjeet Singh, agreeably 
to the orders of the Right Honorable the Governor General 
in Council, I have the pleasure of publishing, for the satis¬ 
faction of the Chiefs of the country of Malwah and Sirhind, 
the pleasure and resolutions of the British Government, as 
contained in the seven following articles: — 

D d 4 



408 


HISTOllY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXVI. 


Article 1. — The country of the Chiefs of Malwah and 
Sirhind having entered under the British protection, they 
shall in future be secured from the authority and influence of 
Muharaja Runjeet Singh, conformably to the terms of the 
treaty. 

Article 2.— All the country of the Chiefs thus taken 
under protection shall be exempted from all pecuniary tribute 
to the British Government. 

Article 3. — The Chiefs shall remain in the full exercise of 
the same rights and authority in their own possessions which 
they enjoyed before they were received under the British 
protection. 

Article 4. — Should a British force, on purposes of general 
welfare, be required to march through the country of the said 
Chiefs, it is necessary and incumbent that every Chief shall, 
within his own possessions, assist and furnish, to the full of 
his power, such force with supplies of grain and other neces¬ 
saries which may be demanded. 

Article 5. — Should an enemy approach from any quarter, 
for the purpose of conquering this country, friendship and 
mutual interest require that the Chiefs join the British 
army with all their force, and, exerting themselves in ex¬ 
pelling the enemy, act under discipline and proper obedience. 

Article 6. — All Europe articles brought by merchants 
from the eastern districts, for the use of the army, shall be 
allowed to pass, by the Thannahdars and Sayerdars of the 
several Chiefs, without molestation and the demand of duty. 

Article 7. — All horses purchased for the use of cavalry 
regiments, whether in the district of Sirhind or elsewhere, 
the bringers of which being provided with sealed “ Rahdaries” 
from the Resident at Delhi, or officer commanding at Sirhind, 
shall be allowed to pass through the country of the said 
Chiefs without molestation or the demand of duty. 


App. XXVII.] PROCLAMATION OF PROTECTION, 1811. 409 


APPENDIX XXVII. 

PROCLAMATION OF PROTECTION TO CIS SUTLEJ STATES 
AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. (Dated 1811.) 

For the Information and Assurance of the Protected Chiefs of 
the Plains between the Sutlej and Jumna . (22d August, 

1811.) 


On the 3d of May, 1809, an “Etlanama,” comprised of seven 
articles, was issued by the orders of the British Government, 
purporting that the country of the Sirdars of Sirhind and 
Malwa having come under their protection. Raja Runjeet 
Singh, agreeably to treaty, had no concern with the posses¬ 
sions of the above Sirdars ; That the British Government had 
no intention of claiming Peishkushs or Nuzerana, and that 
t hey should continue in the full control and enjoyment of 
their respective possessions: The publication of the above 
“ Etlanama” was intended to afford every confidence to the 
Sirdars, that the protection of the country was the sole 
object, that they had no intention of control, and that those 
having possessions should remain in full and complete enjoy¬ 
ment thereof. 

Whereas several Zemindars and other subjects of the 
Chiefs of this country have preferred complaints to the 
officers of the British Government, who, having in view the 
tenor of the above “ Etlanama,” have not attended, and will 
not in future pay attention to them;—for instance, on the 15th 
of June, 1811, Delawur Ali Khan of Samana complained to 
the Resident of Delhi against the officers of Raja Sahib 
Singh for jewels and other property said to have been seized 
by them, who, in reply, observed, that the “ Cusba of 
Samana being in the Ameeldary of Raja Sahib Singh, his 
complaint should be made to himand also, on the 12th of 
July, 1811, Dussowndha Singh and Goormook Singh com- 


410 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXYII. 


plained to Colonel Ochterloney, Agent to the Governor 
General, against Sirdar Churrut Singh, for their shares of 
property, &c.; and, in reply, it was written on the back of 
their urzee, “ that since, during the period of three years, no 
claim was preferred against Churrut Singh by any of his 
brothers, nor even the name of any co-partner mentioned; 
and since it was advertised in the ( Etlanama’ delivered to the 
Sirdars, that every Chief should remain in the quiet and full 
enjoyment of his domains, the petition could not be attended 
to,”— the insertion of these answers to complaints is in¬ 
tended as examples, and also that it may be impressed on the 
minds of every Zemindar and other subject, that the attain¬ 
ment of justice is to be expected from their respective Chiefs 
only, that they may not, in the smallest degree, swerve from 
the observation of subordination, — It is, therefore, highly 
incumbent upon the Rajas and other Sirdars of this side of 
the river Sutlej, that they explain this to their respective 
subjects, and court their confidence, that it may be clear to 
them, that complaints to the officers of the British Govern¬ 
ment will be of no avail, and that they consider their re¬ 
spective Sirdars as the source of justice, and that, of their 
free will and accord, they observe uniform obedience. 

And whereas, according to the first proclamation, it is 
not the intention of the British Government to interfere in 
the possessions of the Sirdars of this country, it is never¬ 
theless, for the purpose of meliorating the condition of the 
community, particularly necessary to give general informa¬ 
tion, that several Sirdars have, since the last incursion of 
Raja Runjeet Singh, wrested the estates of others, and de¬ 
prived them of their lawful possessions, and that in the 
restoration, they have used delays until detachments of the 
British army have been sent to effect restitution, as in the 
case of the Ranee of Terah, the Sikhs of Cholian, the 
Talookas of Karowley and Chehloundy, and the village of 
Cheeba; and the reason of such delays and evasions can only 
be attributed to the temporary enjoyment of the revenues, 
and subjecting the owners to irremediable losses, — It is, 
therefore, by order of the British Government, hereby pro¬ 
claimed that if any one of the Sirdars or others has forcibly 
taken possession of the estates of others, or otherwise 


App. XXVIII.] INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY. 


411 


injured the lawful owners, it is necessary that, before the 
occurrence of any complaint, the proprietor should be satisfied, 
and by no means to defer the restoration of the property, — 
in which, however, should delays be made, and the inter 
ference of the British authority become requisite, the revenues 
of the estate from the date of ejection of the lawful pro¬ 
prietor, together with whatever other losses the inhabitants 
of that place may sustain from the march of troops, shall 
without scruple be demanded from the offending party ; and 
for disobedience of the present orders, a penalty, according 
to the circumstances of the case and of the offender, shall be 
levied, agreeably to the decision of the British Government. 


APPENDIX XXVIII. 

INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY OF 1832. 

Articles of a Convention established between the Honorable the 
East India Company , and his Highness the Muharaja 
Runjeet Singh, the Ruler of the Punjab , for the opening of 
the Navigation of the Rivers Indus and Sutlej. (Originally 
drafted 26th December, 1832.) 

By the grace of God, the relations of firm alliance and 
indissoluble ties of friendship existing between the Honor¬ 
able the East India Company and his Highness the Muha¬ 
raja Bunjeet Singh, founded on the auspicious treaty for¬ 
merly concluded by Sir T. C. Metcalfe, Bart., and since 
confirmed in the written pledge of sincere amity presented 
by the Bight Honorable Lord W. G. Bentinck, G. C.B. and 
G. C. H., Governor General of British India, at the meeting 
at Booper, are, like the sun, clear and manifest to the whole 
world, and will continue unimpaired, and increasing in 
strength from generation to generation: — By virtue of these 



412 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXVJII. 


firmly established bonds of friendship, since the opening of 
the navigation of the rivers Indus proper (i. e. Indus below 
the confluence of the Penjnud) and Sutlej, (a measure 
deemed expedient by both States, with a view to promote the 
general interests of commerce), — has lately been effected 
through the agency of Captain C. M. Wade, Political Agent at 
Loodhiana, deputed by the Bight Honorable the Governor 
General for that purpose. The following Articles, explana¬ 
tory of the conditions by which the said navigation is to be 
regulated, as concerns the nomination of officers, the mode 
of collecting the duties, and the protection of the trade by 
that route, have been framed, in order that the officers of 
the two States employed in their execution may act accord- 
ingly: — 


Article 1. — The provisions of the existing treaty relative 
to the right bank of the river Sutlej and all its stipula¬ 
tions, together with the contents of the friendly pledge 
already mentioned, shall remain binding, and a strict regard 
to preserve the relations of friendship between the two States 
shall be the ruling principle of action. In accordance with 
that treaty, the Honorable Company has not, nor will have 
any concern with the right bank of the river Sutlej. 

Article 2. — The tariff which is to be established for the 
line of navigation in question is intended to apply exclusively 
to the passage of merchandise by that route, and not to in¬ 
terfere with the transit duties levied on goods proceeding 
from one bank of the river to the other, nor with the places 
fixed for their collection : they are to remain as heretofore. 

Article 3. — Merchants frequenting the same route, while 
within the limits of the Muharaja’s government, are required 
to show a due regard to his authority, as is done by merchants 
generally, and not to commit any acts offensive to the civil 
and religious institutions of the Sikhs. 

Article 4. — Any one purposing to go the said route will 
intimate his intention to the agent of either State, and apply 
for a passport, agreeably to a form to be laid down ; having 
obtained which, he may proceed on his journey. The mer¬ 
chants coming from Amrutsir, and other parts on the right 
bank of the river Sutlej, are to intimate their intentions to 


App. XXVIII.] INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY. 


413 


the agent of the Muharaja, at Hurree-kee, or other appointed 
places, and obtain a passport through him; and merchants 
coming from Hindoostan, or other parts on the left bank of the 
river Sutlej, will intimate their intentions to the Honor¬ 
able Company’s agent, and obtain a passport through him. 
As foreigners, and Hindoostanees, and Sirdars of the pro¬ 
tected Sikh States and elsewhere, are not in the habit of 
crossing the Sutlej without a passport from the Muha- 
raja’s officers, it is expected that such persons will hereafter 
also conform to the same rule, and not cross without the usual 
passports. 

Article 5. — A tariff shall be established exhibiting the 
rate of duties leviable on each description of merchandise, 
which, after having been approved by both Governments, is 
to be the standard by which the superintendents and collec¬ 
tors of customs are to be guided. 

Article 6. — Merchants are invited to adopt the new route 
with perfect confidence: no one shall be suffered to molest 
them or unnecessarily impede their progress, care being taken 
that they are only detained for the collection of the duties, in 
the manner stipulated, at the established stations. 

Article 7. — The officers who are to be entrusted with the 
collection of the duties and examination of the goods on the 
right bank of the river shall be stationed at Mithenkot and 
Hurree-kee; at no other places but these two shall boats in 
transit on the river be liable to examination or stoppage. 
When the persons in charge of boats stop of their own 
accord to take in or give out cargo, the goods will be liable 
to the local transit duty of the Muharaja’s government, pre¬ 
viously to their being landed, as provided in Article 2. 
The superintendent stationed at Mithenkot having examined 
the cargo, will levy the established duty, and grant a pass¬ 
port, with a written account of the cargo and freight. On 
the arrival of the boat at Hurree-kee, the superintendent of 
that station will compare the passport with the cargo; and 
whatever goods are found in excess will be liable to the pay¬ 
ment of the established duty, while the rest, having already 
paid duty at Mithenkot, will pass on free. The same rule 
shall be observed in respect to merchandize conveyed from 


414 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXIX. 


Hurree-kee by the way of the rivers towards Sindh, that 
whatever may be fixed as the share of duties on the right 
bank of the river Sutlej, in right of the Muharaja’s own do¬ 
minions and of those in allegiance to him, the Muharaja’s 
officers will collect it at the places appointed. With regard 
to the security and safety of merchants who may adopt this 
route, the Muharaja’s officers shall afford them every protec¬ 
tion in their power; and merchants, on halting for the night 
on either bank of the Sutlej, are required, with reference to 
the treaty of friendship which exists between the two States, 
to give notice, and to show their passport to the Thanedar, or 
officers in authority at the place, and request protection for 
themselves: if, notwithstanding this precaution, loss should 
at any time occur, a strict inquiry will be made, and recla¬ 
mation sought from those who are blameable. The articles 
of the present treaty for opening the navigation of the rivers 
above mentioned having, agreeably to subsisting relations, 
been approved by the Right Honorable the Governor 
General, shall be carried into execution accordingly. 

Dated at Lahore the 26th of December, 1832. 

(Seal and signature at the top.) 


APPENDIX XXIX. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY OF 
1834. 

Draft of a Supplementary Treaty between the British Govern¬ 
ment and Muliaraja Runjeet Singh for establishing a Toll 
on the Indus. (29th November, 1834.) 

In conformity with the subsisting relations of friendship, 
as established and confirmed by former treaties, between the 
Honorable the East India Company and his Highness Mu- 



App. XXIX.J 


SUPPLEMENTARY TREATY. 


41 5 


haraja Runjeet Singh; and whereas in the 5th article of 
the treaty concluded at Lahore on the 26th day of Decem¬ 
ber, 1832, it was stipulated that a moderate scale of duties 
should be fixed by the two Governments in concert, to be 
levied on all merchandize on transit up and down the rivers 
Indus and Sutlej ; the said Governments being now of opinion 
that, owing to the inexperience of the people of these coun¬ 
tries in such matters, the mode of levying duties then pro¬ 
posed (viz . on the value and quantity of goods) could not fail 
to give rise to mutual misunderstandings and reclamations, 
have, with a view to prevent these results, determined to 
substitute a toll, which shall be levied on all boats, with 
whatever merchandize laden. The following articles have 
therefore been adopted as supplementary to the former 
treaty; and, in conformity with them, each Government en¬ 
gages that the toll shall be levied, and its amount neither be 
increased nor diminished except by mutual consent. 

Article 1. — A toll of 570 Rs. shall be levied on all boats 
laden with merchandize in transit on the rivers Indus and 
Sutlej between the sea and Roper, without reference to their 
size, or to the weight or value of their cargo; the above toll 
to be divided among the different States in proportion to the 
extent of territory which they possess on the banks of these 
rivers. 

Article 2. — The portion of the above toll appertaining to 
the Lahore Chief in right of his territory on both banks of 
these rivers, as determined in the subjoined scale, shall be 
levied opposite to Mithenkot on boats coming from the sea 
towards Roper, and in the vicinity of Hurree-kee-Petten on 
boats going from Roper towards the sea, and at no other 
place: — 


In right of territory on the 
right bank of the rivers 
Indus and Sutlej, 155 Rs. 
4 ans. 


In right of territory on the 
left bank of the rivers In¬ 
dus and Sutlej, the Mu- 
haraja’s share, of 67 Rs. 
15 ans. 9 pie. 


Article 3. — In order to facilitate the realization of the 
toll due to the different States, as well as for the speedy and 


416 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXIX. 


satisfactory adjustment of any disputes which may arise con¬ 
nected with the safety of the navigation and the welfare of 
the trade by the new route, a British officer will reside 
opposite to Mithenkot, and a native agent on the part of the 
British Government opposite to Hurree-kee-Petten. These 
officers will be subject to the orders of the British agent at 
Loodhiana; and the agents who may be appointed to reside at 
those places on the part of the other States concerned in the 
navigation, viz. Bhawlpoor and Sindh, together with those 
of Lahore, will co-operate with them in the execution of 
their duties. 

Article 4. — In order to guard against imposition on the 
part of merchants in making false complaints of being plun¬ 
dered of property which formed no part of their cargoes, 
they are required, when taking out their passports, to pro¬ 
duce an invoice of their cargo, which, being duly authenti¬ 
cated, a copy of it will be annexed to their passports; and 
wherever their boats may be brought to for the night, they 
are required to give immediate notice to the Thanadars or 
officers of the place, and to request protection for themselves, 
at the same time showing the passports they may have re¬ 
ceived at Mithenkot or Hurree-kee, as the case may be. 

Article 5. — Such parts of the 5th, 7tli, 9th, and 10th 
articles of the treaty of the 26th of December, 1832, as have 
reference to the fixing a duty on the value and quantity of 
merchandize, and to the mode of its collection, are hereby 
rescinded, and the foregoing articles substituted in their 
place, agreeably to which and the conditions of the preamble, 
the toll will be levied. 

N.B. — A distribution of the shares due to the British 
protected States and the feudatories of the Muharaja on the 
left bank of the Sutlej will be determined hereafter. 


Arp. XXX.] 


TRIPARTITE TREATY. 


417 


APPENDIX XXX. 

THE TRIPARTITE TREATY WITH RUNJEET SINGH AND 
SHAH SHOOJA OF 1838. 

Treaty of Alliance and Friendship between Muharaja Runjeet 
Singh and Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk, with the approbation of 
and in concert with the British Government. 

(Done at Lahore, 26th June, 1838, signed at 
Simla, 25th June, 1838.) 

W here AS a treaty was formerly concluded between Muha¬ 
raja Runjeet Singh and Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk, consisting of 
fourteen articles, exclusive of the preamble and the conclu¬ 
sion : And whereas the execution of the provisions of the said 
treaty was suspended for certain reasons: And whereas at this 
time, Mr. W. H. Macnaghten having been deputed by the 
Right Honorable George Lord Auckland, G. C. B., Go¬ 
vernor General of India, to the presence of Muharaja Run¬ 
jeet Singh, and vested with full powers to form a treaty, in 
a manner consistent with the friendly engagements subsisting 
between the two States, the treaty aforesaid is revived, and 
concluded with certain modifications, and four new articles 
have been added thereto, with the approbation of, and in con¬ 
cert with the British Government, the provisions whereof, 
ascertained in the following eighteen articles, will be duly 
and faithfully observed: — 

Article 1. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk disclaims all title on 
the part of himself, his heirs and successors, and all the Sud- 
dozies, to all the territories lying on either bank of the river 
Indus, that may be possessed by the Muharaja, viz., 
Cashmeer, including limits, E., its W., N., S., together with 
the fort of Attok, Chuch Huzara, Khubul, Umb, with its 
dependencies, on the left bank of the aforesaid river, and on 
the right bank Peshawur, with the Eusufzaee territory, the 

E E 


418 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXX. 


Khutuks, Husht Nuggur, Mitchnee, Kohat, Hunggoo, 
and all places dependent on Peshawur, as far as the Khyber 
pass, Bunnoo, the Yuzeeree territory, Dowr-Tank, Gurang, 
Kalabagh, and Khooshalghur, with their dependent districts. 
Derail Ismaeel Khan, and its dependency, Kot Mithen, 
Oomur Kot, and their dependent territory; Sunghur, Hur- 
rund-Dajul, Hajeepore, Kajenpore, and the three Kutches, 
as well as Munkehra, with its district, and the province of 
Mooltan, situated on the left bank. These countries and 
places are considered to be the property, and to form the 
estate, of the Muharaja: the Shah neither has nor will have 
any concern with them ; they belong to the Muharaja and his 
posterity from generation to generation. 

Article 2. — The people of the country on the other side 
of Khyber • will not be suffered to commit robberies, or ag¬ 
gressions, or any disturbances on this side. If any defaulter 
of either State, who has embezzled the revenue, take refuge 
in the territory of the other, each party engages to surrender 
him, and no person shall obstruct the passage of the stream 
which issues out of the Khyber defile, and supplies the fort 
of Futtigurh with water according to ancient usage. 

Article 3. — As, agreeably to the treaty established be¬ 
tween the British Government and the Muharaja, no one can 
cross from the left to the right bank of the Sutlej without a 
passport from the Muharaja, the same rule shall be ob¬ 
served regarding the passage of the Indus, whose waters 
join the Sutlej, and no one shall be allowed to cross the 
Indus without the Muharaja’s permission. 

Article 4. — Regarding Shikarpore and the territory of 
Scinde, on the right bank of the Indus, the Shah will agree 
to abide by whatever may be settled as right and proper, in 
conformity with the happy relations of friendship subsisting 
between the British Government and the Muharaja through 
Captain Wade. 

Article 5. — When the Shah shall have established his au¬ 
thority in Cabool and Candahar, he will annually send the 
Muharaja the following articles, viz., — 55 high-bred horses 
of approved color, and pleasant paces ; 11 Persian scimetars; 
7 Persian poignards ; 25 good mules; fruits of various kinds, 


Arp. XXX.] 


TRIPARTITE TREATY. 


419 


both dry and fresh; and Sirdas or Musk melons, of a sweet 
and delicate flavour (to be sent throughout the year by the 
way of the Cabool river to Peshawur) ; grapes, pomegranates, 
apples, quinces, almonds, raisins, pistahs or chestnuts, an 
abundant supply of each ; as well as pieces of satin of every 
colour; chogas of fur; kimkhabs wrought with gold and 
silver; and Persian carpets, altogether to the number of 101 
pieces,— all these articles the Shah will continue to send every 
year to the Muharaja. 

Article 6. — Each party shall address the other on terms 
of equality. 

Article 7. — Merchants of Afghanistan who may be de¬ 
sirous of trading to Lahore, Umrutsir, or any other parts of 
the Muharaja’s possessions, shall not be stopped or molested 
on their way; on the contrary, strict orders shall be issued 
to facilitate their intercourse, and the Muharaja engages to 
observe the same line of conduct on his part, in respect to 
traders who may wish to proceed to Afghanistan. 

Article 8. — The Muharaja will yearly send to the Shah 
the following articles in the way of friendship: — 55 pieces 
of shawls ; 25 pieces of muslin; 11 dooputtahs; 5 pieces of 
kimkhab; 5 scarfs; 5 turbans; 55 loads of Bareh rice (pe¬ 
culiar to Peshawur). 

Article 9. — Any of the Muharaja’s officers, who may be 
deputed to Afghanistan to purchase horses, or on any other 
business, as well as those who may be sent by the Shah into 
the Punjab, for the purpose of purchasing piece goods, or 
shawls, &c. to the amount of 11,000 rupees, will be treated 
by both sides with due attention, and every facility will be 
afforded to them in the execution of their commission. 

Article 10. — Whenever the armies of the two States may 
happen to be assembled at the same place, on no account 
shall the slaughter of kine be permitted to take place. 

Article 11. — In the event of the Shah taking an auxiliary 
force from the Muharaja, whatever booty may be acquired 
from the Barekzais in jewels, horses, arms, great and small, 
shall be equally divided between the two contracting parties. 
If the Shah should succeed in obtaining possession of their 
property, without the assistance of the Muharaja’s troops, 
E e 2 


420 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXX. 


the Shah agrees to send a portion of it by his own agent to 
the Muharaja in the way of friendship. 

Article 12. — An exchange of missions charged with letters 
and presents shall constantly take place between the two 
parties. 

Article 13. — Should the Muharaja require the aid of any 
of the Shah’s troops in furtherance of the objects contem¬ 
plated by this treaty, the Shah engages to send a force com¬ 
manded by one of his principal officers: in like manner the 
Muharaja will furnish the Shah, when required, with an 
auxiliary force, composed of Mahomedans, and commanded 
by one of the principal officers, as far as Cabool, in further¬ 
ance of the objects contemplated by this treaty. When the 
Muharaja may go to Peshawur, the Shah will depute a 
Shahzadah to visit him, on which occasions the Muharaja 
will receive and dismiss him with the honor and considera¬ 
tion due to his rank and dignity. 

Article 14. — The friends and enemies of each of the three 
high powers, that is to say, the British and Sikh Govern¬ 
ments, and Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk, shall be the friends and 
enemies of all. 

Article 15. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk engages, after the 
attainment of his object, to pay without fail to the Muha¬ 
raja the sum of two laks of rupees, of the Nanukshahee or 
Kuldar currency, calculating from the date on which the 
Sikh troops may be dispatched for the purpose of reinstating 
his Majesty in Cabool, in consideration of the Muharaja 
stationing a force of not less than 5000 men, cavalry and 
infantry, of the Mahomedan persuasion, within the limits of 
the Peshawur territory, for the support of the Shah, and to 
be sent to the aid of his Majesty, whenever the British Go¬ 
vernment, in concert and counsel with the Muharaja, shall 
deem their aid necessary; and when any matter of great im¬ 
portance may arise to the westward, such measures will be 
adopted with regard to it as may seem expedient and proper 
at the time to the British and Sikh Governments. In the 
event of the Muharaja’s requiring the aid of any of the 
Shah’s troops, a deduction shall be made from the subsidy 
proportioned to the period for which such aid may be afforded. 


App. XXX.] 


TRIPARTITE TREATY. 


421 


and the British Government holds itself responsible for the 
punctual payment of the above sum annually to the Muha~ 
raja, so long as the provisions of this treaty are duly ob¬ 
served. 

Article 16. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk agrees to relinquish 
for himself, his heirs, and successors, all claims of supremacy 
and arrears of tribute over the country now held by the 
Ameers of Scinde, (which will continue to belong to the 
Ameers and their successors in perpetuity,) on condition of 
the payment to him by the Ameers of such a sum as may be 
determined under the mediation of the British Government; 
1,500,000 of rupees of such payment being made over by 
him to Muharaja Runjeet Singh. On these payments being 
completed, article 4th of the treaty of the 12th March, 
1833 *, will be considered cancelled, and the customary inter¬ 
change of letters and suitable presents between the Muha¬ 
raja and the Ameers of Scinde shall be maintained as here¬ 
tofore. 

Article 17. — When Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk shall have 
succeeded in establishing his authority in Afghanistan, he 
shall not attack or molest his nephew, the ruler of Herat, 
in the possession of the territories now subject to his Go¬ 
vernment. 

Article 18. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk binds himself, his 
heirs, and successors, to refrain from entering into nego¬ 
tiations with any foreign State without the knowledge and 
consent of the British and Sikh Governments, and to oppose 
any power having the design to invade the British and Sikh 
territories by force of arms, to the utmost of his ability. 

The three powers, parties to this treaty, namely, the 
British Government, Muharaja Runjeet Singh, and Shah 
Shooja-ool-Moolk, cordially agree to the foregoing articles. 
There shall be no deviations from them, and in that case the 
present treaty shall be considered binding for ever, and this 
treaty shall come into operation from and after the date on 
which the seals and signatures of the three contracting par¬ 
ties shall have been affixed thereto. 

Done at Lahore, this 26th day of June, in the year of 

* Between Shah Shooja and Runjeet Singh. 

£ £ 3 


422 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXI. 

our Lord 1838, corresponding with the 15th of the month 
of Assarh 1895, era of Bikurmajeet. 

Ratified by the Right Honorable the Governor General 
at Simla, on the 23d day of July, A. d. 1838. 

(Signed) Auckland. 

Runjeet Singh. 
Shooja-ool-Moolk. 


APPENDIX XXXI. 

INDUS AND SUTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT OF 1839. 

Agreement entered into with the Government of Lahore , re¬ 
garding the Duties to be levied on the Transit of Merchandize 
by the Rivers Sutlej and Indus , in modification of the Sup¬ 
plementary Articles of the Treaty of 1832. 

(Dated 19th May, 1839.) 


Objections having been urged against the levy of the same 
duty on a boat of a small as on one of a large size, and the 
merchants having solicited that the duties might be levied on 
the maundage, or measurement, of the boats, or on the value 
of the goods, it is therefore agreed, that hereafter the whole 
duty shall be paid at one place, and either at Loodiana, or 
Ferozpoor, or at Mithenkot; and that the duty be levied on 
the merchandize, and not on the boats, as follows : — 


Pushmeena, - - per maund 

Opium - - - — 

Indigo - - - — 

Dried fruits - — 

Superior silks, muslins, broad cloth, &c. 
Inferior silks, cottons, chintzes — 


10 rupees. 
7-J rupees. 
2J rupees. 
1 rupee. 
6 annas, 
4 annas. 



App. XXXII.] INDUS AND SUTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT. 423 


On Exports from the Punjab . 

Sugar, ghee, oil, drugs, ginger, saffron, 

and cotton - - per maund 4 annas. 

Madder - — 8 annas. 

Grain - - — 2 annas. 


On Imports from Bombay. 

All imports whatever, - per maund 4 annas. 


APPENDIX XXXII. 

INDUS AND SUTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT OF 1840. 

Treaty between the Lahore and British Governments , regarding 
the levy of Transit Duties on Boats navigating the Sutlej 
and Indus . (Dated 27th June, 1840.) 

Formerly a treaty was executed by the Right Honorable 
Lord W. Cavendish Bentinck, the Governor General of 
India, on the 14th of Poos Sumbut, 1889 (corresponding 
with a. D. 1832), through Colonel, then Captain Wade, con¬ 
cerning the navigation of the Sutlej and the Scinde rivers in 
the Khalsa territory, in concurrence with the wishes of both 
the friendly and allied Governments. Another treaty on the 
subject was subsequently executed, through the same officer, 
in Simbit, 1891 (corresponding with A. D. 1834), fixing a 
duty on every mercantile boat, independent of the quantity 
of its freight and the nature of its merchandize. A third 
treaty was executed on this subject, in accordance with the 
wishes of both Governments, on the arrival of Mr. Clerk, 
£ £ 4 



424 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXII. 


Agent to the Governor General at the Durbar, in May, 1839, 
adjusting the rate of duties on merchandize according to 
quantity and kind; and it was also specified, that no further 
reduction of those rates should be proposed between the two 
Governments. On the visit of that gentleman to the Khalsa 
Durbar at Amrutsir, in Jith Sumbut, 1897 (corresponding 
with May, 1840), the difficulties and inconveniences which 
seemed to result to trade under the system proposed last year, 
in consequence of the obstruction to boats for the purpose of 
search, and the ignorance of traders, and the difficulty of ad¬ 
justing duties according to the different kinds of articles 
freighted in these boats, were all stated; and that gentleman 
proposed to revise that system, by fixing a scale of duties 
proportionate to the measurement of boats, and not on the 
kind of commodities, if this arrangement should be approved 
of by both Governments. Having reported to his Govern¬ 
ment the circumstance of the case, he now drew up a sche¬ 
dule of the rate of duties on the mercantile boats navigating 
the rivers Scinde and Sutlej, and forwarded it for the con¬ 
sideration of this friendly Durbar; the Khalsa Government, 
therefore, with a due regard to the established alliance, 
having added a few sentences in accordance with the late 
treaties, and agreeably to what is already well understood, has 
signed and sealed the schedule; and it shall never be liable 
to any contradiction, difference, change, or alteration without 
the concurrence and consent of both Governments, in con¬ 
sideration of mutual advantages, upon condition it does not 
interfere with the established custom duties at Amrutsir, 
Lahore, and other inland places, or the other rivers in the 
Khalsa territory. 

Article 1. — Grain, wood, limestone, will be free from 
duty. 

Article 2.—With exception of the above, every commo¬ 
dity to pay duty according to the measurement of the boat. 

Article 3.—Duty on a boat not exceeding 50 maunds of 
freight proceeding from the foot of the Hills, Hooper, or 
Loodiana to Mithenkot or Hojhan, or from Hojhan or Mi- 
thenkot to the foot of the Hills, Hooper, or Loodiana, will be 
50 rupees; viz. 


App. XXXII.] INDUS AND SUTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT. 425 


From the foot of the Hills to Ferozepoor, or back 20 Rupees 
From Ferozepoor to Buhawulpoor, or back - 15 
From Buhawulpoor to Mithenkot or Rojhan, or 
back - - - - - 15 

The whole trip, up or down 50 Rupees. 

Duty on a boat above 250 maunds, but not exceeding 500 
maunds: from the foot of the Hills, Rooper, or Loodiana to 
Mithenkot or Rojhan, or from Rojhan or Mithenkot to the 
foot of the Hills, Rooper, or Loodiana, will be 100 rupees, viz. 

From the foot of the Hills to Ferozepoor, or back 40 Rupees 
From Ferozepoor to Buhawulpoor, or back - 30 
From Buhawulpoor to Mithenkot or Rojhan, or 
back - - - - - 30 


The whole trip, up or down 100 Rupees. 


Duty on all boats above 500 maunds will be 150 rupees; viz. 

From the foot of the Hills to Ferozepoor, or back 60 Rupees 
From Ferozepoor to Buhawulpoor, or back - 45 
From Buhawulpoor to Mithenkot or Rojhan, or 
back - - - - - 45 


The whole trip, up or down 150 Rupees. 

Article 4. — Boats to be classed 1, 2, or 3, and the same 
to be written on the boat, and every boat to be registered. 

Article 5. — These duties on merchandize frequenting the 
Sutlej and Scinde are not to interfere with the duties on the 
banks of other rivers, or with the established inland custom¬ 
houses throughout the Khalsa territory, which will remain on 
their usual footing. 

Dated 13th Assar Sumbut, 1897, corresponding with 
27th June, 1840. 



4 26 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Apr. XXXIII. 


APPENDIX XXXIII. 

DECLARATION OF WAR OF 1845. 

Proclamation by the Governor General of India . 

Camp, Lushkuree Khan ke Serai, 
December 13th, 1845. 

The British Government has ever been on terms of friend¬ 
ship with that of the Punjab. 

In the year 1809, a treaty of amity and concord was con¬ 
cluded between the British Government and the late Mu- 
haraja Runjeet Singh, the conditions of which have always 
been faithfully observed by the British Government, and 
were scrupulously fulfilled by the late Muharaja. 

The same friendly relations have been maintained with the 
successors of Muharaja Runjeet Singh by the British Go¬ 
vernment up to the present time. 

Since the death of the late Muharaja Shere Singh, the 
disorganized state of the Lahore Government has made it 
incumbent on the Governor General in Council to adopt pre¬ 
cautionary measures for the protection of the British frontier: 
the nature of these measures, and the cause of their adop¬ 
tion, were, at the time, fully explained to the Lahore 
Durbar. 

Notwithstanding the disorganized state of the Lahore Go¬ 
vernment during the last two years, and many most un¬ 
friendly proceedings on the part of the Durbar, the Governor 
General in Council has continued to evince his desire to 
maintain the relations of amity and concord which had so 
long existed between the two States, for the mutual interests 
and happiness of both. He has shown, on every occasion, 
the utmost forbearance, from consideration to the helpless 
state of the infant Muharaja, Dhuleep Singh, whom the British 
Government had recognized as the successor to the late Mu¬ 
haraja Shere Singh. 


App. XXXIII.] DECLARATION OF WAR, 


427 


The Governor General in Council sincerely desired to see 
a strong Sikh Government reestablished in the Punjab, able 
to control its army, and to protect its subjects; he had not, 
up to the present moment, abandoned the hope of seeing that 
important object effected by the patriotic efforts of the Chiefs 
and people of that country. 

The Sikh army recently marched from Lahore towards 
the British frontier, as it was alleged, by the orders of the 
Durbar, for the purpose of invading the British territory. 

The Governor General’s agent, by direction of the Go¬ 
vernor General, demanded an explanation of this movement, 
and no reply being returned within a reasonable time, the 
demand was repeated. The Governor General, unwilling to 
believe in the hostile intentions of the Sikh Government, to 
which no provocation had been given, refrained from taking 
any measures which might have a tendency to embarrass the 
Government of the Muharaja, or to induce collision between 
the two States. 

When no reply was given to the repeated demand for 
explanation, while active military preparations were continued 
at Lahore, the Governor General considered it necessary to 
order the advance of troops towards the frontier, to reinforce 
the frontier posts. 

The Sikh army has now, without a shadow of provocation, 
invaded the British territories. 

The Governor General must therefore take measures for 
effectually protecting the British provinces, for vindicating 
the authority of the British Government, and for punishing 
the violators of treaties and the disturbers of the public 
peace. 

The Governor General hereby declares the possessions of 
Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, on the left or British bank of the 
Sutlej, confiscated and annexed to the British territories. 

The Governor General will respect the existing rights of 
all Jagheerdars, Zemindars, and tenants in the said posses¬ 
sions, who, by the course they now pursue, evince their 
fidelity to the British Government. 

The Governor General hereby calls upon all the Chiefs and 
Sirdars in the protected territories to co-operate cordially 


428 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIV. 


with the British Government for the punishment of the 
common enemy, and for the maintenance of order in these 
States. Those of the Chiefs who show alacrity and fidelity in 
the discharge of this duty, which they owe to the protecting 
power, will find their interests promoted thereby; and those 
who take a contrary course will be treated as enemies to the 
British Government, and will be punished accordingly. 

The inhabitants of all the territories on the left bank of 
the Sutlej are hereby directed to abide peaceably in their 
respective villages, where they will receive efficient protec¬ 
tion by the British Government. All parties of men found 
in armed bands, who can give no satisfactory account of 
their proceedings, will be treated as disturbers of the public 
peace. 

All subjects of the British Government, and those who 
possess estates on both sides the river Sutlej, who, by their 
faithful adherence to the British Government, may be liable 
to sustain loss, shall be indemnified and secured in all their 
just rights and privileges. 

On the other hand, all subjects of the British Government 
who shall continue in the service of the Lahore State, and 
who disobey the proclamation by not immediately returning 
to their allegiance, will be liable to have their property on 
this side the Sutlej confiscated, and themselves declared to 
be aliens and enemies of the British Government. 


APPENDIX XXXIY. 

FIRST TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1846. 

Treaty between the British Government and the State of La¬ 
hore, concluded at Lahore, on March 9th, 1846. 

Whereas the treaty of amity and concord, which was con¬ 
cluded between the British Government and the late Muharaja 



App. XXXIV.] FIRST TREATY OF 1846 . 


429 


Runjeet Singh, the ruler of Lahore, in 1809, was broken by 
the unprovoked aggression on the British provinces of the 
Sikh army, in December last: And whereas, on that occasion, 
by the proclamation dated the 13 th of December, the ter¬ 
ritories then in the occupation of the Muharaja of Lahore, 
on the left or British bank of the river Sutlej, were confis¬ 
cated and annexed to the British provinces; and, since that 
time, hostile operations have been prosecuted by the two 
Governments, the one against the other, which have resulted 
in the occupation of Lahore by the British troops: And 
whereas it has been determined that, upon certain conditions, 
peace shall be re-established between the two Governments, 
the following treaty of peace between the Honorable 
English East India Company, and Muharaja Dhuleep Singh 
Bahadoor, and his children, heirs, and successors, has been 
concluded, on the part of the Honorable Company, by Fre¬ 
derick Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major Henry Montgomery 
Lawrence, by virtue of full powers to that effect vested in 
them by the .Right Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., 
one of Her Britannic Majesty’s most Honorable Privy Coun¬ 
cil, Governor General, appointed by the Honorable Com¬ 
pany to direct and control all their affairs in the East Indies; 
and, on the part of his Highness the Muharaja Dhuleep 
Singh, by Bhaee Ram Singh, Raja Lai Singh, Sirdar Tej 
Singh, Sirdar Chutter Singh Attareewalla, Sirdar Runjore 
Singh Mujeetheea, Dewan Deena Nath, and Fakeer Noor-ood- 
deen, vested with full powers and authority on the part of 
his Highness. 

Article 1. — There shall be perpetual peace and friendship 
between the British Government, on the one part, and Muha¬ 
raja Dhuleep Singh, his heirs and successors, on the other. 

Article 2. — The Muharaja of Lahore renounces for him¬ 
self, his heirs and successors, all claim to, or connection with, 
the territories lying to the south of the river Sutlej, and en¬ 
gages never to have any concern with those territories, or 
the inhabitants thereof. 

Article 3. — The Muharaja cedes to the Honorable Com¬ 
pany, in perpetual sovereignty, all his forts, territories, and 


430 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIY. 


rights, in the Dooab, or country, hill and plain, situate be¬ 
tween the rivers Beas and Sutlej. 

Article 4. — The British Government having demanded 
from the Lahore State, as indemnification for the expenses 
of the war, in addition to the cession of territory described in 
Article 3, payment of one and a half crores of rupees; and 
the Lahore Government being unable to pay the whole of 
this sum at this time, or to give security satisfactory to the 
British Government for its eventual payment; the Muha- 
raja cedes to the Honorable Company, in perpetual so¬ 
vereignty, as equivalent for one crore of rupees, all his forts, 
territories, rights, and interests, in the hill countries which 
are situate between the rivers Beas and Indus, including the 
provinces of Cashmere and Hazarah. 

Article 5.— The Muharaja will pay to the British Go¬ 
vernment the sum of fifty lacs of rupees, on or before the 
ratification of this treaty. 

Article 6. — The Muharaja engages to disband the muti¬ 
nous troops of the Lahore army, taking from them their 
arms; and his Highness agrees to reorganize the regular, or 
Aieen, regiments of infantry, upon the system, and according 
to the regulations as to pay and allowances, observed in the 
time of the late Muharaja Bunjeet Singh. The Muharaja 
further engages to pay up all arrears to the soldiers that are 
discharged under the provisions of this article. 

Article 7. — The regular army of the Lahore State shall 
henceforth be limited to 25 battalions of infantry, consisting 
of 800 bayonets each, with 12,000 cavalry: this number at 
no time to be exceeded without the concurrence of the British 
Government. Should it be necessary at any time, for any 
special cause, that this force should be increased, the cause 
shall be fully explained to the British Government; and, 
when the special necessity shall have passed, the regular 
troops shall be again reduced to the standard specified in the 
former clause of this article. 

Article 8.—The Muharaja will surrender to the British 
Government all the guns, thirty-six in number, which have 
been pointed against the British troops, and which, having 


App. XXXIV.] FIRST TREATY OF 1846. 43 L 

been placed on the right bank of the river Sutlej, were not 
captured at the battle of Sobraon. 

Article 9. — The control of the rivers Beas and Sutlej, 
with the continuations of the latter river, commonly called 
the Garrah and Punjnud, to the confluence of the Indus at 
Mithenkot, and the control of the Indus from Mithenkot 
to the borders of Beloochistan, shall, in respect to tolls and 
ferries, rest with the British Government. The provisions 
of this article shall not interfere with the passage of boats 
belonging to the Lahore Government on the said rivers, for 
the purposes of traffic, or the conveyance of passengers up 
and down their course. Regarding the ferries between the 
two countries respectively, at the several ghats of the said 
rivers, it is agreed that the British Government, after de¬ 
fraying all the expenses of management and establishments, 
shall account to the Lahore Government for one half of the 
net profits of the ferry collections. The provisions of this 
article have no reference to the ferries on that part of the 
river Sutlej which forms the boundary of Bahawulpore and 
Lahore respectively. 

Article 10. — If the British Government should, at any 
time, desire to pass troops through the territories of his High¬ 
ness the Muharaja for the protection of the British terri¬ 
tories, or those of their allies, the British troops shall, on such 
special occasions, due notice being given, be allowed to pass 
through the Lahore territories. In such case, the officers of 
the Lahore State will afford facilities in providing supplies 
and boats for the passage of rivers; and the British Govern¬ 
ment will pay the full price of all such provisions and boats, 
and will make fair compensation for all private property that 
may be endamaged. The British Government will more¬ 
over observe all due consideration to the religious feelings of 
the inhabitants of those tracts through wdiich the army may 
pass. 

Article 11. — The Muharaja engages never to take, or 
retain, in his service, any British subject, nor the subject of 
any European or American State, without the consent of the 
British Government. 

Article 12. — In consideration of the services rendered by 


432 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIV. 


Raja Golab Singh of Jummoo to the Lahore State, to¬ 
wards procuring the restoration of the relations of amity 
between the Lahore and British Governments, the Muharaja 
hereby agrees to recognize the independent sovereignty of 
Raja Golab Singh, in such territories and districts in the 
hills as may be made over to the said Raja Golab Singh by 
separate agreement between himself and the British Govern¬ 
ment, with the dependencies thereof, which may have been 
in the Raja’s possession since the time of the late Muha¬ 
raja Kurruk Singh: and the British Government, in consi¬ 
deration of the good conduct of Raja Golab Singh, also 
agrees to recognize his independence in such territories, and 
to admit him to the privileges of a separate treaty with the 
British Government. 

Article 13. — In the event of any dispute or difference 
arising between the Lahore State and Raja Golab Singh, the 
same shall be referred to the arbitration of the British Govern¬ 
ment ; and by its decision the Muharaja engages to abide. 

Article 14.—The limits of the Lahore territories shall not 
be, at any time, changed, without the concurrence of the 
British Government. 

Article 15. — The British Government will not exercise 
any interference in the internal administration of the Lahore 
State ; but in all cases or questions which may be referred to 
the British Government, the Governor General will give the 
aid of his advice and good offices for the furtherance of the 
interests of the Lahore Government. 

Article 16. — The subjects of either State shall, on visit¬ 
ing the territories of the other, be on the footing of the sub¬ 
jects of the most favored nation. 

This treaty, consisting of sixteen articles, has been this 
day settled by Frederick Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major 
Henry Montgomery Lawrence, acting under the directions 
of the Right Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., 
Governor General, on the part of the British Government; 
and by Bhaee Ram Singh, Raja Lai Singh, Sirdar Tej Singh, 
Sirdar Chutter Singh Attaree walla. Sirdar Runjore Singh 
Mujeetheea, Dewan Deena Nath, and Fakeer Noor-ood-deen, 
on the part of the Muharaja Dhuleep Singh; and the said 


Arp. XXXV.] SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLES. 


433 


treaty has been this day ratified by the seal of the Right 
Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., Governor Ge¬ 
neral, and by that of his Highness Muharaja Dhuleep Singh. 

Done at Lahore, this 9th day of March, in the year of 
our Lord 1846, corresponding with the 10th day of Rubbee- 
ool-awul, 1262, Hijree, and ratified on the same day. 


APPENDIX XXXV. 

SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLES TO FIRST TREATY WITH 
LAHORE OF 1846. 

Articles of Agreement concluded between the British Govern¬ 
ment and the Lahore Durbar, on the 1 \th of March, 1846. 


Whereas the Lahore Government has solicited the Governor 
General to leave a British force at Lahore, for the protec¬ 
tion of the Muharaja’s person and of the capital, till the re¬ 
organization of the Lahore army, according to the provisions 
of article 6 of the treaty of Lahore, dated the 9th instant: 
And whereas the Governor General has, on certain condi¬ 
tions, consented to the measure: And whereas it is expedient 
that certain matters concerning the territories ceded by 
articles 3 and 4 of the aforesaid treaty should be speci¬ 
fically determined; the following eight articles of agreement 
have this day been concluded between the afore-mentioned 
contracting parties. 

Article 1. — The British Government shall leave at La¬ 
hore, till the close of the current year, a. d. 1846, such force 
as shall seem to the Governor General adequate for the pur¬ 
pose of protecting the person of the Muharaja, and the in¬ 
habitants of the city of Lahore, during the reorganization 



434 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 


[App. XXXV. 


of the Sikh army, in accordance with the provisions of article 
6 of the treaty] of Lahore; that force to be withdrawn at 
any convenient time before the expiration of the year, if the 
object to be fulfilled shall, in the opinion of the Durbar, have 
been obtained; but the force shall not be detained at Lahore 
beyond the expiration of the current year. 

Article 2. — The Lahore Government agrees that the 
force left at Lahore, for the purpose specified in the foregoing 
article, shall be placed in full possession of the fort and the 
city of Lahore, and that the Lahore troops shall be removed 
from within the city. The Lahore Government engages to 
furnish convenient quarters for the officers and men of the 
said force, and to pay to the British Government all the extra 
expences, in regard to the said force, which may be incurred 
by the British Government, in consequence of their troops 
being employed away from their own cantonments, and in a 
foreign territory. 

Article 3. — The Lahore Government engages to apply 
itself immediately and earnestly to the reorganization of its 
army, according to the prescribed conditions, and to commu¬ 
nicate fully with the British authorities left at Lahore, as to 
the progress of such reorganization, and as to the location of 
the troops. 

Article 4. — If the Lahore Government fails in the per¬ 
formance of the conditions of the foregoing article, the Bri¬ 
tish Government shall be at liberty to withdraw the force 
from Lahore, at any time before the expiration of the period 
specified in article 1. 

Article 5. — The British Government agrees to respect the 
bond fide rights of those Jagheerdars within the territories 
ceded by articles 3 and 4 of the treaty of Lahore, dated 9th 
instant, who were attached to the families of the late Muha- 
raja Bunjeet Singh, Kurruk Singh, and Shere Singh; and the 
British Government will maintain those] Jagheerdars in their 
bond fide possessions, during their lives. 

Article 6.— The Lahore Government shall receive the 
assistance of the British local authorities in recovering the 
arrears of revenue justly due to the Lahore Government from 
their Kardars and managers in the territories ceded by the 


App. XXXVI.] TREATY WITH GOLAB SINGH. 


435 


provisions of articles 3 and 4 of the treaty of Lahore, to the 
close of the Khureef harvest of the current year, viz. 1902, 
of the Sumbut Bikramajeet. 

Article 7. — The Lahore Government shall be at liberty 
to remove from the forts in the territories specified in the 
foregoing article, all treasure and state property, with the 
exception of guns. Should, however, the British Govern¬ 
ment desire to retain any part of the said property, they shall 
be at liberty to do so, paying for the same at a fair valuation; 
and the British officers shall give their assistance to the La¬ 
hore Government, in disposing on the spot of such part of 
the aforesaid property as the Lahore Government may not 
wish to remove, and the British officers may not desire to 
retain. 

Article 8. — Commissioners shall be immediately appointed 
by the two Governments, to settle and lay down the boundary 
between the two States, as defined by article 4 of the 
treaty of Lahore, dated March 9th, 1846. 


APPENDIX XXXVI. 

TREATY WITH GOLAB SINGH OF 1846. 

Treaty between the British Government and Muharaja Golab 
Singh, concluded at Umrutsir, on March 16th, 1846. 

Treaty between the British Government on the one part, 
and Muharaja Golab Singh of Jummoo on the other, con¬ 
cluded, on the part of the British Government, by Frederick 
Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major Plenry Montgomery Law¬ 
rence, acting under the orders of the Bight Honorable Sir 
Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., one of Her Britannic Majesty’s 
most Honorable Privy Council, Governor General, ap~ 

F F 2 



436 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXYI. 


pointed by the Honorable Company to direct and control 
all their affairs in the East Indies, and by Muharaja Golab 
Singh in person. 

Article 1. — The British Government transfers and makes 
over, for ever, in independent possession, to Muharaja Golab 
Singh, and the heirs male of his body, all the hilly or moun¬ 
tainous country, with its dependencies, situated to the east¬ 
ward of the river Indus, and westward of the river Bavee, 
including Chumba and excluding Lahool, being part of the 
territory ceded to the British Government by the Lahore 
State, according to the provisions of article 4 of the treaty 
of Lahore, dated March 9th, 1846. 

Article 2.— The eastern boundary of the tract transferred 
by the foregoing article to Muharaja Golab Singh shall be 
laid down by commissioners appointed by the British Govern¬ 
ment and Muharaja Golab Singh respectively, for that pur¬ 
pose, and shall be defined in a separate engagement, after 
survey. 

Article 3.—In consideration of the transfer made to him 
and his heirs by the provisions of the foregoing articles, Mu¬ 
haraja Golab Singh will pay to the British Government the 
sum of seventy-five lacs of rupees (Nanukshahee), fifty lacs 
to be paid on ratification of this treaty, and twenty-five lacs 
on or before the 1st of October of the current year, a. d. 
1846. 

Article 4. — The limits of the territories of Muharaja 
Golab Singh shall not be at any time changed without the 
concurrence of the British Government. 

Article 5. — Muharaja Golab Singh will refer to the 
arbitration of the British Government any disputes or ques¬ 
tions that may arise between himself and the Government 
of Lahore, or any other neighbouring State, and will abide 
by the decision of the British Government. 

Article 6.—Muharaja Golab Singh engages for himself 
and heirs, to join, with the whole of his military force, the 
British troops, when employed within the hills, or in the ter¬ 
ritories adjoining his possessions. 

Article 7. — Muharaja Golab Singh engages never to take, 
or retain, in his service any British subject, nor the subject 


App. XXXVII.] SECOND TREATY OF 1846. 437 

of any European or American State, without the consent of 
the British Government. 

Article 8. —Muharaja Golab Singh engages to respect, in 
regard to the territory transferred to him, the provisions of 
articles 5, 6, and 7, of the separate engagement between the 
British Government and the Lahore Durbar, dated March 11th, 
1846. 

Article 9. — The British Government will give its aid to 
Muharaja Golab Singh, in protecting his territories from 
external enemies. 

Article 10. — Muharaja Golab Singh acknowledges the 
supremacy of the British Government, and will, in token of 
such supremacy, present annually to the British Government 
one horse, twelve perfect shawl goats of approved breed (six 
male, and six female), and three pairs of Cashmere shawls. 

This treaty, consisting of ten articles, has been this day 
settled by Frederick Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major Henry 
Montgomery Lawrence, acting under the directions of the 
Bight Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C.B., Governor 
General, on the part of the British Government, and by Mu¬ 
haraja Golab Singh in person; and the said treaty has been 
this day ratified by the seal of the Bight Honorable Sir 
Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., Governor General. 

Done at Umrutsir, this 16th day of March, in the year of 
our Lord 1846, corresponding with the 17th day of Bubbee- 
ool-awul, 1262, Hijree. 


APPENDIX XXXVII. 

SECOND TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1846. 


Foreign Department, Camp, Bhyrowal Ghat, on the 
left Bank of the Beas, the 22d December, 1846. 


The late Governor of Cashmere, on the part of the Lahore 
State, Sheik Imam Ooddeen, having resisted by force of arms 
rr 3 



438 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXVII. 


the occupation of the province of Cashmere by Muharaja 
Golab Singh, the Lahore Government was called upon to 
coerce their subject, and to make over the province to the 
representative of the British Government, in fulfilment of the 
conditions of the treaty of Lahore, dated 9th March, 1846. 

A British force was employed to support and aid, if neces¬ 
sary, the combined forces of the Lahore State and Muharaja 
Golab Singh in the above operations. 

Sheik Imam Ooddeen intimated to the British Govern¬ 
ment that he was acting under orders received from the La¬ 
hore Durbar in the course he was pursuing; and stated that 
the insurrection had been instigated by written instructions 
received by him from the Vizier Baja Lall Singh. 

Sheik Imam Ooddeen surrendered to the British agent on 
a guarantee from that officer, that if the Sheik could, as he 
asserted, prove that his acts were in accordance with his in¬ 
structions, and that the opposition was instigated by the 
Lahore minister, the Durbar should not be permitted to in¬ 
flict upon him, either in his person or his property, any 
penalty on account of his conduct on this occasion. The 
British agent pledged his Government to a full and impar¬ 
tial investigation of the matter. 

A public inquiry was instituted into the facts adduced by 
Sheik Imam Ooddeen, and it was fully established that Baja 
Lall Singh did secretly instigate the Sheik to oppose the occu¬ 
pation by Muharaja Golab Singh of the province of Cashmere. 

The Governor General immediately demanded that the 
ministers and Chiefs of the Lahore State should depose and 
exile to the British provinces the Vizier Baja Lall Singh. 

His Lordship consented to accept the deposition of Baja 
Lall Singh as an atonement for the attempt to infringe the 
treaty by the secret intrigues and machinations of the Vizier. 
It was not proved that the other members of the Durbar had 
cognizance of the Vizier’s proceedings; and the conduct of 
the Sirdars, and of the Sikh army in the late operations for 
quelling the Cashmere insurrection, and removing the ob¬ 
stacles to the fulfilment of the treaty, proved that the crimi¬ 
nality of the Vizier was not participated in by the Sikh 
nation. 


App. XXXVII.] SECOND TREATY OF 1846. 439 

The Ministers and Chiefs unanimously decreed, and carried 
into immediate effect, the deposition of the Vizier. 

After a few days’ deliberations, relative to the means of 
forming a government at Lahore, the remaining members of 
the Durbar, in concert with all the Sirdars and Chiefs of the 
State, solicited the interference and aid of the British Govern¬ 
ment for the maintenance of an administration, and the pro¬ 
tection of the Muharaja Dhuleep Singh during the minority 
of his Highness. 

This solicitation by the Durbar and Chiefs has led to the 
temporary modification of the relations between the British 
Government and that of Lahore, established by the treaty of 
the 9th March of the present year. 

The terms and conditions of this modification are set forth 
in the following articles of agreement. 

Articles of Agreement concluded between the British Govern¬ 
ment and the Lahore Durbar on 16f/i December , 1846. 

Whereas the Lahore Durbar and the principal Chiefs and 
Sirdars of the State have, in express terms, communicated to 
the British Government their anxious desire that the Gover¬ 
nor General should give his aid and his assistance to maintain 
the administration of the Lahore State during the minority 
of Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, and have declared this measure 
to be indispensable for the maintenance of the government: 
And whereas the Governor General has, under certain con¬ 
ditions, consented to give the aid and assistance solicited, the 
following articles of agreement, in modification of the articles 
of agreement executed at Lahore on the 11th March last, 
have been concluded, on the part of the British Government, 
by Frederick Currie, Esq., Secretary to the Government of 
India, and Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Montgomery Law¬ 
rence, C. B., agent to the Governor General, North West 
Frontier, by virtue of full powers to that effect vested in them 
by the Right Honorable Viscount Hardinge, G. C.B., Go¬ 
vernor General, and on the part of his Highness Muharaja 
Dhuleep Singh, by Sirdar Tej Singh, Sirdar Shere Singh, 
Dewan Deena Nath, Fakeer Noor-ood-deen, Raee Kishen 
F F 4 


440 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXYII. 


Chund, Sirdar Runjore Singh Mujeetheea, Sirdar Utter Singh 
Kaleewalla, Bhaee Nidhan Singh, Sirdar Khan Singh Mujee¬ 
theea, Sirdar Shumshere Singh, Sirdar Lall Singh Morarea, 
Sirdar Kher Singh Sindhanwalla, Sirdar Urjun Singh Rungr- 
nungleea, acting with the unanimous consent and concur¬ 
rence of the Chiefs and Sirdars of the State assembled at 
Lahore. 

Article 1. — All and every part of the treaty of peace 
between the British Government and the State of Lahore, 
bearing date the 9th day of March, 1846, except in so far as 
it may be temporarily modified in respect to clause 15 of the 
said treaty by this engagement, shall remain binding upon 
the two Governments. 

Article 2. — A British officer, with an efficient establish¬ 
ment of assistants, shall be appointed by the Governor General 
to remain at Lahore, which officer shall have full authority 
to direct and control all matters in every department of the 
State. 

Article 3. — Every attention shall be paid, in conducting 
the administration to the feelings of the people, to preserving 
the national institutions and customs, and to maintain the 
just rights of all classes. 

Article 4. — Changes in the mode and details of adminis¬ 
tration shall not be made, except when found necessary for 
effecting the objects set forth in the foregoing clause, and for 
securing the just dues of the Lahore Government. These 
details shall be conducted by native officers, as at present, who 
shall be appointed and superintended by a Council of Re¬ 
gency, composed of leading Chiefs and Sirdars, acting under 
the control and guidance of the British Resident. 

Article 5. — The following persons shall in the first in¬ 
stance constitute the Council of Regency, viz. y — Sirdar Tej 
Singh, Sirdar Shere Singh Attareewalla, Dewan Deena Nath, 
Eakeer Noor-ood-deen, Sirdar Runjore Singh Mujeetheea, 
Bhaee Nidhan Singh, Sirdar Utter Singh Kalee walla, Sirdar 
Shumshere Singh Sindhanwalla; and no change shall be made 
in the persons thus nominated, without the consent of the 
British Resident, acting under the orders of the Governor 
General. 


App. XXXVII.] SECOND TREATY OE 1846. 


441 


Article 6. — The administration of the country shall be 
conducted by this Council of Regency in such manner as may 
be determined on by themselves in consultation with the 
British Resident, who shall have full authority to direct and 
control the duties of every department. 

Article 7. — A British force, of such strength and num¬ 
bers, and in such positions, as the Governor General may 
think fit, shall remain at Lahore for the protection of the 
Muharaja, and the preservation of the peace of the country. 

Article 8. — The Governor General shall be at liberty to 
occupy with British soldiers any fort or military post in the 
Lahore territories, the occupation of which may be deemed 
necessary by the British Government for the security of the 
capital, or for maintaining the peace of the country. 

Article 9. — The Lahore State shall pay to the British 
Government twenty-two lacs of new Nanukshahee rupees 
of full tale and weight per annum, for the maintenance of 
this force, and to meet the expenses incurred by the British 
Government; such sum to be paid by two instalments, or 13 
lacs and 20,000 in May or June, and 8 lacs and 80,000 in 
November or December of each year. 

Article 10. — Inasmuch as it is fitting that her Highness 
the Muharanee, the mother of Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, 
should have a proper provision made for the maintenance of 
herself and dependents, the sum of 1 lac and 50,000 
rupees shall be set apart annually for that purpose, and shall 
be at her Highness’s disposal. 

Article 11. — The provisions of this engagement shall have 
effect during the minority of his Highness Muharaja Dhu¬ 
leep Singh, and shall cease and terminate on his Highness 
attaining the full age of 16 years, or on the 4th September 
of the year 1854; but it shall be competent to the Governor 
General to cause the arrangement to cease, at any period 
prior to the coming of age of his Highness, at which the 
Governor General and the Lahore Durbar may be satisfied 
that the interposition of the British Government is no longer 
necessary for maintaining the government of his Highness 
the Muharaja. 


442 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXYIII. 


This agreement, consisting of eleven articles, was settled 
and executed at Lahore, by the officers and Chiefs and 
Sirdars above named, on the 16th day of December, 1846. 


APPENDIX XXXYIII. 

REVENUES OF THE PUNJAB, AS ESTIMATED IN 1844. 


TRIBUTARY STATES. 

Belaspoor. Tribute, 10,000. Under Lelma 
Singh ------- 

Sooket. Do. 25,000. Do. 

Chumba. Not known. Under Golab Singh - 
Rajaoree. Do. Do. 

Ludakh. Tribute, 42,000. Do. 

Iskardo. Do. 7,000. Do. 


Rupees. 

70,000 

70,000 

2,00,000 

1,00,000 

1,00,000 

25,000 


Note .—All of these States, excepting Belas¬ 
poor, may be regarded rather as farms held 
by the Chiefs than as tributary principalities ; 
and, ordinarily, all the resources of the Chiefs 
being at the disposal of the government re¬ 
presentative, the probable revenues have 
therefore been entered in full, instead of the 
mere pecuniary payment. 


Rupees. 


5,65,000 


LAND REVENUE. 


Farms. 


Mundee. Farm with the Raja of Mundee, who 
was allowed one lakh out of the four for 
his expenses - 

Kooloo. The members of the family had pen¬ 
sions ------ 

Juswan. The family had a Jagheer 
Kanggra. Do. not included 

in the farm. 

Kotlehr. The family had a Jagheer 

Carried forward - 


4,00,000 

1,20,000 

1,25,000 

6,00,000 

25,000 

12,70,000 5,65,000 









App. XXXVIII.] REVENUES OF THE PUNJAB. 


443 


Land Revenue— Farms ( continued ). 
Brought forward - 

Seeba. The family may almost be regarded as 
Jagheerdars for the whole estate: they 
served with horse - 

Noorpoor. The family had a Jagheer - 
Hurreepoor. Do. 

Dutarpoor. Do. 

Kotluh. Do. 

Note. —The above were all under Lehna 
Singh Mujeetheea. 

Bissohlee. Family at large : was held by Raja 
Heera Singh - 

Cashmeer. Shekh Gholam Moheiooddeen: 

Contract - 21,00,000 
Troops - - 5,00,000 

Assignments - 4,00,000 


Mozufferabad, &c. (Under Cashmeer.) The 
Mozulferabad Chief a Jagheerdar - 

Raja Golab Singh. The' 

Chutch Huzara ' 
and Pukhlee 
Dhumtowr. 


Rupees. 


Gundghur and Turnowlee 


Chiefs have Jagheers; but 
they are almost indepen¬ 
dent freebooters 
Rawil Pindee. Deewan Hakim Raee 
Hussun Abdal, f Deewan Mool Raj: he] 
Khatir, and -| lately held Chutch Huzara > 
Ghehpee. [ also - - - - J 

Peshawur. Sirdar Tej Singh. The Barukzaees 
have Jagheers - 

Tank-Bunnoo. Deewan Dowlut Raee. The 
Chief fled; his brother a Jagheer - 
Dera Ismaeel Khan. Deewan Dowlut Raee. 
Chief a Jagheer ----- 

“’Mu^ 66 } 0 — Sawun 

Contract - - 36,00,000 

Troops - - 7,00,000 

Assignments, &c. 2,00,000 


Ramnuggur, &c. Deewan Sawun Mull - 
Mitta Towana. The late Dhian Singh - 
Bhereh Khooshab. Raja Golab Singh - 
Pind Dadul Khan. Do. 

Goojrat. Do. 

Vuzeerabad, &c. The late Soochet Singh 
Seealkot. Raja Golab Singh 

Carried forward - 


12,70,000 


20,000 

3,00,000 

1,00,000 

50,000 

20,000 


75,000 

30,00,000 

1 , 00,000 

1,50,000 

1,00,000 

1 , 00,000 

1 , 00,000 

10 , 00,000 

2,50,000 

4,50,000 


45,00,000 

3,00,000 

1,00,000 

1,00,000 

50,000 

3,00,000 

9,00,000 

50,000 


Rupees. 


5,65,000 


- 1,33,85,000 


5,65,000 















444 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXVIII. 


Land Revenue — Farms ( continued ). 

Brought forward - 

Jalundhur Dooab. Shekh Emamooddeen 
Shekhoopoora, &c. Shekh Emamooddeen 
Cis Sutlej farms - 
Miscellaneous farms in the Punjab 

Religious Grants. 

Held by “ Sodhees ” 

Held by “ Behdees ” 

Miscellaneous; viz. Akalees, Fukeers, Brah¬ 
mins, and the lands attached to Amritsir, 
&c. &c.. 

Hill Jagheers of the Jummoo Rajas. 

Jesrot'a, &c. Heera Singh. The Chief a Jagheer 
Pader, and other dis-1 ^ , , 0 . . 

tricts of Chumba. j Golab S,n S h * ‘ 

Bhudurwah. Golab Singh (in Jagheer with 
uncle of Chumba Raj a) - 
Mankot. The late Soochet Singh, 

Jagheer - 
Bhuddoo. Do. 

Bundralta. Do. 

Chuneinee (Ram- 
nuggur). 

Jummoo and f Golab Singh. Families mostly "I 
Reeassee. \ refugees - - - - J 

Samba. The late Soochet Singh. Family ex¬ 
tinct or fled - 

Kishtwar.. Golab Singh. Family refugees - 
Ukhnoor, including f 

Chukkana, with I Golab Singh. Family a 1 
Kesree Singh’s | Jagheer. 
family ( 

Bhimbur. The late Dhian Singh. Some mem¬ 
bers of family Jagheers; others refugees - 
The Chibh-Bhow tribes. The late Dhian Singh. 

Family Jagheers - - - ° _ 

Kotlee. The late Dhian Singh. Fam. Jagheers 
Soonutch. Do. Family perhaps 

refugees 

Dangullee, Khanpoor, &c. Golab Singh. Some 
members of family Jagheers; others pri¬ 
soners ; others refugees - 

Total—Hill Jagheers - 
Carried forward - 


Golab Singh. 


Family a 

Do. - 
Do. - 

Do. - 


Rupees. 


1,33,85,000 

22,00,000 

2,50,000 

6,50,000 

15,00,000 


5,00,000 

4,00,000 


11,00,000 


1,25,000 

1,00,000 

50,000 

50,000 

50,000 

1,25,000 

30,000 

4,00,000 

40,000 

1,50,000 

50,000 


1,50,000 

1,00,000 

30,000 

70,000 


1,00,000 


16,20,000 


Rupees. 


5,65,000 


1,79,85,000 


20,00,000 


16,20,000 [2,05,50,000 















Arp. XXXVIII.] REVENUES OF THE PUNJAB. 


445 


Land Revenue— Jagheers. 

Brought forward - 

Various Jagheers held by the Jummoo Rajas 
(in the plains) - 

The Kanggra Rajas (Runbeer Chund, &c.) 
Sirdar Lehna Singh Mujeetheea - 
Sirdar Nihal Singh Alhoowaleea - 
Sirdar Kishen Singh (son of Jemadar Khooshal 
Singh) ------- 

Sirdar Tej Singh - 

Sirdars Sham Singh and Chutter Singh Attaree- 
wall as - 

Sirdar Shumsher Singh Sindhanwala 
Sirdar Urjoon Singh, and other sons of Hurree 
Singh ------- 

Konwur Peshawura Singh - 
Konwur Tara Singh - 

Sirdar Jowahir Singh (uncle of Dhuleep Singh) 

Sirdar Munggul Singh - - - - - 

Sirdar Futteh Singh Man - 
Sirdar Uttur Singh Kaleeanwala - - - 

Sirdar Hookum Singh Mulwaee - - - 

Sirdar Behla Singh Mokul - - - - 

Sirdars Sooltan Mahomed, Syed Mahomed, and 
Peer Mahomed Khans - - - - 

Sirdar Jumalooddeen Khan - - - - 

Shekh Gholam Moheeooddeen - - - 

Fukeer Uzeezooddeen and his brothers - 

Deewan Sawun Mull - - - - 

Miscellaneous ------ 


Rupees. 


16,20,000 

5,00,000 

1,00,000 

3,50,000 

9,00,000 

1,20,000 

60,000 

1 , 20,000 

15,000 

15,000 

5,000 

20,000 

50,000 

50,000 

50,000 

50,000 

50,000 

50,000 

1,50,000 

1,00,000 

30,000 

1,00,000 

20,000 

50,00,000 


CUSTOMS, &c. 


Salt Mines. Raja Golab Singh - - - 

Town Duties. Amritsir. The late Dhian Singh 
Do. Lahore. Do. 

Miscellaneous Town Duties - - - - 

“ Abkaree ” (Excise), &c. &c. Lahore - 
Transit Duties. Loodiana to Peshawur - 
“ Mohurana ” (Stamps) - 


8,00,000 

5,50,000 

1,50,000 

1 , 00,000 

50,000 

5,00,000 

2,50,000 


Total 


Rupees. 


2,05,50,000 


95,25,000 


24,00,000 

3,24,75,000 











446 


HISTORY OF THE SIKHS 


[App. XXXIX 


RECAPITULATION. 


Land Revenue:— 
Tributary States 
Farms 

Eleemosynary 
Jagheers 
Customs, &c. 


Rupees. 

5,65,000 

1,79,85,000 

20,00,000 

95,25,000 

24,00,000 


Total - - - 3,24,75,000 


APPENDIX XXXIX. 


THE ARMY OF LAHORE, AS RECORDED IN 1844. 


The Regular Army. 

h c 
S el 



Heavy Guns. 

Commandants of Corps. 


Description or Race of Men. 

<2 5 
a 'So 

> a 

<3't? 

Pd 

si 

< 

Field 

Garri¬ 

son. 

Sirdar Tej Singh 


Sikhs - 

4 

1 

10 

0 

0 

Gen. Pertab Singh Puttee- 
wala. 


Sikhs - 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Gen. Jowala Singh - 


Inf. Sikhs; Art. Sikhs 
and Mahometans. 

2 

0 

4 

0 

0 

Shekh Emamooddeen 

Mahometans 

3 

0 

4 

0 

0 

Sirdar Lehna Singh Mu- 
jeetheea. 

Infantry, Sikhs; Guns, 
chiefly Sikhs. 

2 

0 

10 

3 

2 

Gen. Bishen Singh - 

Mahometans; a few Sikhs 

2 

0 

3 

0 

0 

Gen. Golab Singh Pohoo- 
vindheea. 

3 Mahometans ; Guns, 
Sikhs and Mahometans 

3* 

0 

14 

0 

0 

Gen. Mehtab Singh Mu- 
jeetheea. 

Inf. Sikhs ; Cav. mixed ; 
Art. Sikhs and Mah. 

4 

1 

12 

0 

0 

Gen. Goordut Singh Mu- 
jeetheea. 

1 

f Inf. chiefly Sikhs ; "l 
| Guns, S. and M. 1 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Col. John Holmes - 

1 

Formerly under Gen. [ 
Court. 

1 

0 

10 

0 

0 

Gen. Dhowkul Singh 

Hindoostanees ; a few 
Sikhs. 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Colonel Cortlandt (dis¬ 
charged). 

Inf. Sikhs and Hind. ; 
Guns, Sikhs and Mah. 

2 

0 

10 

0 

0 

Shekh Gholam Moheiood- 
deen. 

Inf. Sikhs? Guns, Sikhs 
and Mahometans. 

1 

0 

6 

8 

0 

Carried forward - 

32 

2 

83 

11 

2 


* Shekh Emamooddeen subsequently raised a fourth regiment. 





























App. XXXIX.] THE ARMY OF LAHORE 


447 


Army of Lahore, ( [continued ). 


The Regular Army. 

Infantry 

Regiments. 

CO 

■5 

rt q 

r- O 

Heavy Guns. 

Commandants of Corps. 

Description or Race of Men. 

> c 

(J 0 
« 

3 '-2 
< 

Field. 

Garri¬ 

son. 

Brought forward 

_____ 

32 

2 

83 

11 

2 

Deewan Adjoodheea Per- 

Inf. Sikhs; Art. Sikhs 

4 

2 

12 

22 

0 

shad; Guns under Ila- 
hee Bukhsh, General - 
Gen. Golab Singh Cal- 

and Mahometans ( Gen. 
Ventura). 

Sikhs - 

4 

1 

16 

0 

0 

cuttawala (deceased). 







Deewan Jodha Ram 

Sikhs, Mahom., Hill men 

4 

1 

12 

3 

0 

Gen. Kanh Singh Man - 

(Gen. Avitabile). 

Sikhs and Mahometans - 

4 

O 

10 

0 

0 

Sirdar Nehal Singh Al- 

Inf. Sikhs and Mahom. ; 

1 

0 

4 

11 

0 

hoowaleea. 

Deewan Sawun Mull 

Art. chiefly Mahom. - 
Mahom. and some Sikhs 

3 

O 

6 

0 

40 

Raja Heera Singh - 
Raja Golab Singh - 

Hill men, some Mah., &c. 

2 

1 

O 

3 

5 

Do. Do. 

3 

0 

15 

0 

40 

Raja Soochet Singh (dec.) 

Do. Do. 

2 

1 

4 

0 

10 

Capt. Kooldeep Singh 

Goorkhas - 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Commandant Bhag Singh 

Sikhs and Mahometans - 

O 

0 

6 

0 

0 

Commandant Sheo Pershad 

Do. Do. 

O 

0 

8 

0 

0 

Misser Lai Singh 

Do. Do. 

0 

0 

10 

0 

0 

Sirdar Kishen Singh 

Mah. and Hindoostanees 

0 

0 

O 

0 

2 

Gen. Kishen Singh - 

Sikhs and Mahometans - 

0 

0 

22 

0 

0 

Sirdar Sham Singh Attaree- 

Do. Do. 

0 

0 

0 

10 

0 

walla. 







Meean Pirthee Singh 

Chiefly Mahometans 

0 

0 

0 

56 

0 

Gen. Mehwa Singh 

Sikhs and Mahometans - 

0 

0 

10 

10 

0 

Col. Ameer Chund 

Chiefly Mahometans 

0 

0 

0 

10 

0 

Commandant Muzhur Alee 

Mah. and Hindoostanees 

0 

0 

10 

0 

0 

Jowahir Mull Mistree 

Mahometans ; a few 

0 

0 

0 

20 

12 

(Lahore). 

Commandant Sookhoo 

Sikhs. 

Sikhs, and some Hindoos- 

0 

0 

0 

0 

10 

Singh (Amritsir). 
Miscellan. Garrison Guns 

tanees. 

0 

0 

0 

0 

50 



60 

8 

228 

156 

171 


Abstract of the whole Army. 


Sixty Regiments Infantry, at 700 - - 42,000 

llamghols, Akalees - 5,000 

Irreg. Levies, Garrison Companies, &c. - 45,000 


Eight Regiments Cavalry, at 600 - - 4,800 

“ Ghorchurras ” (Horse) - 12,000 

Jagheerdaree Horse - 15,000 

- 31,800 Cavalry. 

Field Artillery. 384 Guns. 






















JS 

to 

r. 


co 


w 

p 

X 




M 


Q 

P 

P 

P 

<1 


pH 


W 

PS 

o 

w 

<< 

Hi 


w 

w 

H 
































































































INDEX 


Abdool Gheias Khan, son of Jubbar 
Khan, sent to Loodiana, 213. Use 
attempted to be made of him, 214. 
and note. 

Abdool Summud Khan defeats the 
Sikhs, 85. Their conduct under his 
rule, 90. 

Adee Grunt’h, compilation of the, by 
Arjoon, 49. Its mention of English¬ 
men, 125. note. Its composition and 
extent, 367, 368. Synopsis of its 
contents, 368—371. The Book of 
Govind, 372. Synopsis of its con¬ 
tents, 373—376‘ Extracts exhibit¬ 
ing points of belief and practice, 
377 — 391. 

Adeena Beg: Khan enters Munnoo’s 

O 

service, 93. and note. His equi¬ 
vocal conduct; he defeats and paci¬ 
fies the Sikhs, 95. Becomes nomi¬ 
nal ruler of the Punjab, 96. His 
contest with Tymoor, 97. and note. 
He invites aid from the Mahrattas; 
his death, 98. 

Afghans, localities peopled by the, 6. 
Their characteristics, 15. Their con¬ 
tests with the Sikhs. See “Ahmed 
Shah.” Their treatment by their Sikh 
conquerors, 103. Their battle with 
the Sikhs at Jumrood, 216, 217. and 
note. Reasons why trade cannot 
yet be extended among them, 234. 
and note. 

Afreedees, the race of, 6. 

Agneekoolas, origin of the, 20. note. 
Localities now peopled by them, ib. 

Ahmed Shah Abdalee, result of his first 
invasion of India, 92. H is second in¬ 
vasion and treaty with Munnoo, 94. 
His third invasion and conquest of 
Munnoo, 95. His proceedings on 
his fourth invasion, 96. Expulsion 
of his agent from Delhi, 97. His 
fifth expedition and victory at Pa- 
neeput, 98, 99. His sixth invasion, 
100 . His excesses at Amritsir, 101. 


His seventh expedition and speedy 
return, 102, 103. His last expedi¬ 
tion; its failure, 112. 

Ahmed Shah of Baltee disinherits his 
eldest son, 247. Advantage taken 
of the incident by Zorawur Singh, 
248. 

Ahmed Shah Ghazee. See “ Syed 
Ahmed Shah.” 

Ajeet Singh chosen to command against 
the Jummoo Rajas, 235. He escapes 
from Lahore, 241. He assassinates 
Sher Singh and Dhian Singh, 262. 
His death, 263. 

Akalees, the order of, 109. Their 
enthusiasm and asceticism, 110. 
Anecdote of one of them, ib. note. 

Akamnath, anecdote of, 35. note. 

Akber, 47, 48. His character, 72. 
His wise system, 73. and note. 

Akber Khan, 258 

Aleewal, Battle of, 312—315. 

Alba Singh taken prisoner and en¬ 
nobled by Ahmed Shah, 101. 
Ahmed’s recognition of his autho¬ 
rity, 103. 

Alhoowaleeas, the, 106. Their rank 
among the Misls, 107. Their pos¬ 
sessions, 108. 

Allard, General, 173. 177. 193. 196. 
note. Dissatisfaction of the English 
at his proceedings, 218. His pre¬ 
sumed motives and objects, 219. 
note. 

Alum (Shah) seeks an alliance with 
the English, 98. Nominates Sindhia 
his vicegerent, 121. Gholam 
Qadir’s atrocity towards him, ib. 
Restoration of his authority, 127. 

Ameer Khan put to flight by Lord 
Lake, 128. Anecdote related by 
him, ib. note. Attempts to gain 
over Runjeet Singh, 129. Joins in 
Holkar’s renewed incursion, 132. 

Amherst, Lord, receives a mission from 
Runjeet Singh, 187. 




INDEX. 


451 


Amritsir, the commercial emporium 
of northern India, 3. Its founda¬ 
tion by Ram Das, 48. and note. Its 
elevation into the “ holy city” of the 
Sikhs, 48, 4 9. Its desecration and 
destruction by Tymoor, 97. Its 
restoration, 100. Pollution of its 
temples by Ahmed Shah, 101. 
Ileassemblage of the Sikhs within 
its walls, 103. 

Appa Sahib’s futile designs, 167. His 
death, 168. 

Arabic language; its advantages as 
an educational adjunct, 363, 364. 

Arabs, early incursions of the, into 
India little felt, 28. Their services 
in the cause of science, 31. note. 
Contrast of the views of Whewell 
and Humboldt thereon, 32. note. 

Arjoon succeeds Itam Das; he grasps 
Nanuk’s ideas, and makes Amritsir 
the “holy city” of the Sikhs, 48. 
Compiles the Adee Grunt’h, levies 
taxes, and engages in commerce, 49. 
Chundoo Shah’s enmity towards him; 
his imprisonment and death; and 
legend connected therewith, 50, 51. 
and note. Struggles for the vacant 
Goorooship, 52. Extent of his re¬ 
forms, 87. Traditionary anecdote 
of his wife, 356. 

Artillery, English victories in India 
attributed to, 175. Superiority of 
the Sikh cannon at P’herooshuhur, 
304, 305. tiotes. 

Asceticism inculcated amongst the 
Sikhs, 382. 

Asofooddowla invites Shah Zuman to 
enter India, 119. See also 120, 
121 . note. 

Attok; its rice, wheat, dyes, drugs, 
&c ., 4. 

Auckland, Lord, visits Runjeet Singh, 
226. Expressive interchange of 
compliments on the occasion, ib. 
note. His reply to Mr. Clerk, 229. 
note. Degree of merit attaching to 
portions of his policy, 258. note. H is 
additions to the forces in the Punjab, 
286. note. 

Aurungzeb; his significant mode of 
deciding on Hurkishen’s succes¬ 
sion to the Goorooship; he puts 
Gooroo Tegh Buhadur to death, 
62, 63. Probable cause of his so 
acting, 63. note. His character, 72. 
State of his empire, 72, 73. His 

G G 


proceedings against Govind, 76. 
Govind’s replies to his summons, 
78. His death, ib. His genius as 
a ruler, 89. 

Avitabile, General, 173. 177. His 
perilous position amongst the Sikh 
soldiers, 241. Ilis apprehensions 
of Major Broadfoot’s doings, 245. 
His urgent desire for relief, 251. 
His notions of Sikh prowess, 253. 
note. He aids the British in Caubul, 
254. 

A wans, the, 6. 

Ayoob ( Shah) proclaimed by Mahomed 
Arzeem Khan, 160. Is a mere 
cypher, 165. 

Barukzaees and Barukzaee Brothers. 
See “ Dost Mahomed,” “ Futteh 
Khan,” “ Jubbar Khan,” “ Mahomed 
Azeem,” “ Sooltan Mahomed,” “ Yar 
Mahomed.” 

Bayezeed Khan, opposes the Sikhs, 
mode of his death, 85. 

Beekaree Khan, put to death by 
Munnoo’s widow, and why, 96. note. 

Beer Singh, ex-Raja of Noorpoor, ex¬ 
cites Runjeet Singh’s apprehensions, 

168. Is subsequently imprisoned, 

169. note. 

Beer Singh (the Bhaee), great repute 
of, as a devotee, 264. He joins 
Uttur Singh’s insurrection. Is 
slain, 267. 

Belotches, the, 6. Their habits and 
dispositions 14. Their recent mi¬ 
grations, 17. 

Bentinck, Lord William, receives a 
complimentary mission from Run¬ 
jeet Singh, 195. Diplomacy on the 
occasion, 195, 196. Meetings of 
his Lordship and Runjeet Singh, 
and their object, 196. 197. Their 
negotiations respecting the naviga¬ 
tion of the Indus, 197, 198. 

Bhaee, signification of the term, 80. n. 

Bhag Singh tenders his allegiance to 
the English, 127. Receives Lord 
Lake’s thanks, 128. Again joins 
his Lordship ; influence of his con¬ 
duct on Runjeet Singh’s proceed¬ 
ings, 129. Is substantially rewarded 
by the British, 130. and note. 

Bheem Chund joined in rebellion by 
Govind, 75. 

Bhopal, the principality of, how found¬ 
ed, 18. note. 

2 




452 


INDEX. 


Bhotees, the, 7. 

Bhung, composition and properties of, 
106. and note 

Bhungga Singh tenders his services 
to the English, 127. 

Bhuttees, or Bhatees, localities peo¬ 
pled by them, 6. Ancient supre¬ 
macy of the tribe, 7. 

Boodh Singh Sindhanwala repulses 
Syed Ahmed Shah, 192. 

Boodhism degenerate in modern 
times, yet strong to resist innova¬ 
tion, 11. Progressive in some parts 
of the Himalaya, 18. Its origin 
and early contemporaneity with 
Brahminism, 20,21.no/es. Triumph 
of the latter, 28. Its reaction on 
Brahminism, 25. Its philosophical 
system, 349. 

Boloo Mull, the learned Kshutree, 15. 
note. 

Brahmins and Brahminism.—Position 
of the Brahmins in Cashmeer, 10. 
Secluded races disregarded by 
them, ib. Degeneration of their 
faith into a social custom, 11. 
Increase of its influence in certain 
localities, 18. Seceders from Brah¬ 
minism, ib. Its contests with 
Boodhism, 20. and notes. Its 
achievements and characteristics, 
21 , 22. Its ultimate triumph over 
Boodhism, 23. Deteriorating con¬ 
sequences of its compromise with 
other creeds, 24. and note. Intro¬ 
duction of polytheism by Shunkur 
Acharj, 25. Causes of the decline 
of Brahminism, 28. Action and 
reaction of it and Mahometanism, 
30. Use made by Nanuk of the 
Brahminical philosophy, 41. Ex¬ 
tracts from the Grunt’ll relative to 
Brahmins, 384, 385. 

British, the. See “ English.” 

Broadfoot, Major, irritates the Sikhs 
by his proceedings, 244,245. His 
reception of Peshawura Singh, 273. 
note, 274. note. His observation on 
Golab Singh’s military weakness, 
276. note. His Note on the “ Sur- 
but Khalsa,” 278. note. Becomes 
British agent for Sikh affairs, 287. 
His unwise declaration concerning 
Dhuieep Singh, ibid, and note. In¬ 
stances of arbitrary conduct on his 
part, 288, 289. His proceedings 
held to denote enmity towards the 


Sikhs, 289, 290. Animadversions 
on the policy involved therein, ibid, 
notes. His impressions regarding 
Pundit Julia and Golab Singh, 290, 
291. notes. Cessation of his official 
correspondence, 293. His disbelief 
relative to the Sikhs, 296. note. His 
views clash with those of Captain 
Nicolson, 297. note. He rebukes 
Lai Singh’s agent. 299- note. His 
exclusive facilities for furnishing the 
commissariat, 315. note. 

Buddowal, the Skirmish of, and its 
untoward results, 309—311. 

Bughel Singh pretends submission to 
the Delhi Court, 1 16. His opera¬ 
tions in the Dooab, 117. He ren¬ 
ders military aid to Nanoo Mull, 
122 . Is defeated by George Tho¬ 
mas, 123. 

Buhadur Shah, proceedings of, rela¬ 
tive to Govind, 76. and note. He 
succeeds Aurungzeb; his conflicts 
with his brothers, 78. His libera¬ 
lity to Govind, 79. and note. He 
repulses Bunda, 84. His death, 85. 

Buhawul Khan becomes obnoxious to 
Runjeet Singh, 198. Is dispossessed 
of his territories, 199. Assists Shah 
Shooja, 203. 

Buhawulpoor, quantities of cotton 
used by its weavers; its indigo, 3. 
note. Nadir Shah’s intentions re¬ 
garding it, 113. and note. 

Buhows, the, 6. 16. 

Bumbas, the, 5. 

Bunda succeeds Govind as a temporal 
leader, 83. His origin, ib. note. 
His military successes, 84. His 
reverses and imprisonment, 85. His 
sufferings and death, 86. and note. 
His character and position in the 
esteem of the Sikhs, 86, 87. note. 
Effect of his insurrection upon the 
English mission, 125. 

Bunghees, the, why so called, 106. 
Their preeminence among the 
Misls, 107. Localities possessed by 
them, 108. Their military import¬ 
ance, 109. Their exploits under 
Hurree Singh, 112, 113. 

Burn, Colonel, aided by Sikh Chiefs, 
188. 

Burnes, Lieutenant and Captain, after¬ 
wards Sir Alexander, conveys pre¬ 
sents fromWm. IV. toRunjeet Singh, 
196. Reports to the Governor- 




INDEX. 


453 


General on the scheme of opening 
the Indus, 197. Proceeds on a 
commercial mission, 208. Is form¬ 
ally invested with diplomatic powers, 

218. and note. His predilections 
concerning Dost Mahomed, 223. 
and note. Impressions produced by 
his recall from Caubul, 223, 224. 

His estimate of Iiunjeet Singh’s re¬ 
venue and forces, 227. note. His 
proposal to bestow Peshawur on 
Dost Mahomed, 286. 

Butchna, slain bv Golab Singh’s troops, 

275. 

Cashmeer ; its saffron-harvests ; im¬ 
portance of its shawl manufac¬ 
tures, 4. and note. Language and 
faith of its people, 5. Their cha¬ 
racteristics, 15. It falls into Futteh 
Khan’s hands, 154. Failure of 
Shah Shooja’s attempt on it, 156. 
Runjeet Singh repulsed, 156, 157. 

His renewed attempt, 160. It is 
annexed to his dominions, 161. 

Cashineera Singh attempts an insur¬ 
rection, 265. Soochet Singh privy 
thereto, 266. He joins Utter Singh, 
and is slain, 267. 

Caste in India; its ramifications and 
peculiarities, 346, 347. Extent of 
its prevalence among the Sikhs, 

357, 358. Discountenanced by the 
Gooroos, 383, 384. 

Caubul ; supply of sugar to its mar¬ 
kets, 3. Discussion relative to the 
relief of the British troops there, 

232. The memorable insurrection 
there, 252. and note, 253. and note. 
Assembly of the army of retribu¬ 
tion, 254. and note. Help rendered 
by the Sikhs, 254, 255. Caubul 
re-taken, 256. 

Celibacy discountenanced by Cheitun 
and Vullubh, 35. 

Charvakites; nature of their creed, 25. 
note. 

Clieit Singh obtains ascendency over 
Khurruk Singh ; his assassination, 

230. and note. 

Cheitun, introduction of religious re¬ 
forms by, 35. 

Chibhs, the, 6. 16. 

Chinese of Tibet, curiosity of the, 
concerning the English, 187. note. 
Their conflicts with the Sikhs, 247. 
Zorawur Singh's attacks on them, 

G G 3 


248, 249. They defeat and slay 
him, 250. They recover their pos¬ 
sessions and make peace with the 
Sikhs, 250, 251. 

Chooras, peculiarities of the, 69. note. 

Christianity; impediments to its 
gaining converts amongst the Hin¬ 
doos and Mahometans, 12, 13. and 
note. View taken by its writers of 
the doctrine of transmigration, 23. 
note. Its growth accelerated by 
Pagan scepticism, 31. note. Its 
mission misunderstood by Tacitus 
and Suetonius, 83. and note. Prac¬ 
tice of its early professors paralleled 
by Nanuk, 355. 

Chund. See “ Deewan Chund; ” 

“ Mohkum Chund.” 

Chund Kour, widow of Khurruk 
Singh, assumes the regency. 237. 
Her tactics, 238. Attitude of the 
British viceroy towards her, 239. 
Insecurity of her position; she 
yields to Slier Singh, 239, 240. 
She is put to death, 261. and 
note. 

Chundoo Lai, the Kshutree, 15. note. 

Chundoo Shah, animosity of, towards 
Arjoon, 50. Put to death at the 
instance of Hur Govind, 52, 53. 

Chunggurs, the wandering; their pro¬ 
bable identity with the Gypsies, 9. 

Churrut Singh fortifies Goojranwala, 
99. He repulses the Afghans, ICO. 
Cause of his death, 114. Its date, 
115. note. 

Ch utter Singh Atareewala takes up 
arms against Heera Singh, 272. 
Betrothal of his daughter to Dhu- 
leep Singh, 276. He subdues 
Peshawura Singh, 278. 

Clerk, Mr., afterwards Sir George, 
proceeds on a mission to Khur¬ 
ruk Singh, 231. He succeeds Col. 
Wade, 232. His capabilities for 
his post, 233. He undervalues 
the Sikh soldiers, 242. note. His 
proposals relative to Sher Singh’s 
position, 243. Sher Singh’s panto¬ 
mimic comment thereon, ib. vote. 
His view of Sikh prowess, 253. note. 
His views regarding the march on 
Caubul, 257. note. 11 is misunder¬ 

standing with Lehna Singh, 260. 
note. He becomes Lieutenant-Go¬ 
vernor of Agra, 261. note. His suc¬ 
cessor, 287. 



454 


INDEX 


Clive and Omichund, 126. 

Clovis ; a Mahometan parallel to Gib¬ 
bon’s anecdote of his religious fer¬ 
vor, 27. note. 

Colvin, Mr., recommends a withdrawal 
to the Sutlej, 253. notes. 

Comber mere, Lord, arrives at Lood iana, 
187. 

Court, General, 173. 177. Obliged 
to fly for his life, 241. 

Cowper, the poet; his rendering of the 
term tlieos as used by Homer, 23. 

Daoodpotras, migrations of the, 17. 
Their league with the Bunghees, 
112, 113. Origin of their tribe; 
their agricultural skill, 113, note. 

Deewan Chund leads the assault on 
Cashmeer, 161. See also 1 83. note. 

*' Deg,” “Tegh,” and “ Futteh,” various 
explanations of the terms, 103, and 
note. 356, 357. 360. 

Dehsa Singh Mujeetheea embarrasses 
Runjeet Singh, 160., who compels 
him to apologise to the English, 161. 
His dislike of military innovations, 
176. Made governor of Amritsir, 
183. 

Dehsoo Singh, seizure of, 116. 

Delhi; captured by Nadir Shah ; its 
comparative unimportance to Eng¬ 
land then, 91. note. Its occupation 
by the Afghans, and capture by the 
Mahrattas, 99. Effect of Syed 
Ahmed’s exhortations on its tailors, 

192. note. 

Dhian Singh becomes one of Runjeet 
Singh’s favourites, 182. Increase of 
his ascendency, 189. Instance of 
his devotion to his chief, 217. His 
artifices for ensuring Khurruk 
Singh’s quiet succession, 228. Ilis 
dislike of Colonel Wade, 230. 232. 
His complicity in Cheit Singh’s 
assassination, 230. and note. He 
prepares for Sher Singh’s accession, 

237. H is office under Chund Kbur, 

238. He secretly encourages Sher 
Singh, 240. He becomes Vuzeer 
under Sher Singh, 240, 241. Pre¬ 
dominance of his influence in Sikh 
councils, 251. His aversion to Sher 
Singh’s meeting the English, 259. 
and note. His domination irksome to 
Sher Singh, 261. He imprisons and 
procures the assassination of Jowala 
Singh, ib. note. His infl uence wanes; 
he is outwitted and shot, 262. His 
assassination avenged by his son, 263. 


Dhuleep Singh’s birth and pretensions 
made known, 238. and note. Dhian 
Singh’s ambitious use of his name, 

262. He is proclaimed Muharaja, 

263. Jowahir Singh presumes on 
his relationship to him, 264, 265. 
Peshawura Singh and Cashmeera 
Singh attempt a rivalry with him, 265. 
His betrothal to Chutter Singh’s 
daughter, 276. Jowahir Singh put 
to death in his presence, 279. Major 
Broadfoot’s declaration relative to 
him, 287. and note. He submits to 
the British authorities, 321. 

Dick, Sir Robert, death of, 317*. note. 

Doghers, the, 1 6 ; their migrations, 17. 

Dogras of the Himalayas, the, 7. 

Dost Mahomed Khan; advantage 
taken of his indiscretion, 159. His 
intriguing character, 165. note. Ap¬ 
prehensive of Shah Shooja’s designs, 
he seeks the countenance of the 
English, 202, 203. and note. He 
defeats the Shah, 203. He dispos¬ 
sesses his nephew, 211. His over¬ 
tures to the English, 212. His 
hostile movements after defeating 
Shah Shooja, 213. Cautious atti¬ 
tude of the English towards him, 

. 214. He retreats from before Pe- 
shawur; makes overtures to Per¬ 
sia, 215. He evades Runjeet 
Singh’s endeavours to overreach 
him, 216. He defeats the Sikhs at 
Jumrood, 216, 217. note. His re¬ 
treat; renewed negotiations with 
Runjeet Singh, 217. His over¬ 
tures to Persia and Russia, 223. and 
note. Consequences of his prefer¬ 
ence of an alliance with those 
powers, 224. note. The Sikh chief 
accused of aiding him, 235. He 
fails in his attempt on Caubul and 
surrenders to the English, 239. His 
contemplated release, 257. Its po¬ 
licy questioned, 258. note. Sher 
Singh’s public reception of him, 261. 
He corresponds with Peshawura 
Singh, 278. Proposition to bestow 
Peshawur on him, 286. 

“ Dul,” Proclamation of the, 93. 

Durdoos and Dunghers, 5, 6. 

Eden, Miss ; character of her portrait 
of Runjeet Singh, 228. note. 

Eeka Rao killed by the Sikh Chiefs, 
128. 

Ellenborough, Lord, embraces the 




INDEX. 


455 


project of conferring Jellalabad on 
Golab Singh, 256. His feeling re¬ 
garding Sir John McCaskill's expe¬ 
dition, 257. note. Proposes a public 
meeting with Sher Singh, 258. and 
note. Unwillingness of Slier Singh 
to meet him, 259. and note. He 
visits Prince Pertab Singh, 260. 
His additions to the military forces, 
286. note. See also note* on p. 297. 

Elphinstone, Mr., proceeds to Shah 
Shooja’s court, 138. 

English, first intercourse of the, with 
the Sikhs, 125. Detention cf the 
English mission to Ferokhseer; 
Mr. Hamilton’s services, ib. and note. 
Effect of French designs on their 
policy, 137, 138. Mr. Metcalfe 
proceeds as envoy to Lahore, 138. 
and note. Troops sent to support 
him, 139. Negotiations and ulti¬ 
mate treaty concluded with Runjeet 
Singh, HO, 141. Terms of the ar¬ 
rangement with the Sikh chiefs; 
British policy on the occasion, 141, 
and note. 142. Perplexities of Bri¬ 
tish authorities regarding the course 
to be pursued, 143, 144. High cha¬ 
racter of the representatives em¬ 
ployed by the British in their nego¬ 
tiations, 144. note. Observations 
pertinent to the subject, 145. Con¬ 
fidence in ltunjeet Singh slowly 
developed, 146, 147. War with the 
Goorkhas, 149. Runjeet Singh’s 
invitation declined, 151. Sudda 
Kour restored to her possessions by 
English aid, 163. Attachment of 
the native troops in their service to 
artillery, 175. and note. Effect of 
their commercial designs on the re¬ 
lative position of themselves and the 
Sikhs, 184, 185. Their suspicions 
of Runjeet Singh’s correspondence 
with Russia, 195. Their negotia¬ 
tions with him and the Sindhians 
relative to opening the Indus, 197, 

198. Their demands acceded to, 

199, 200. Their warnings to Shah 
Shooja, 200. Their reassurances to 
him; Dost Mahomed seeks their 
countenance, 202, 203. Their dis¬ 
pleasure at Runjeet Singh’s am¬ 
bition ; their cautious remonstrances, 
207, 208. Their views become po¬ 
litical as well as commercial; they 
mediate between Runjeet Singh and 


the Sindhians, 208, 209, 210. Their 
connection with the Barukzaees, 
211 . Sooltan Mahomed Khan and 
his brothers solicit their protection 
and alliance, 212, 213. Their re¬ 
plies to Dost Mahomed, 214 ; who 
renews his solicitations, 215. They 
mediate between the Sikhs and Af¬ 
ghans, 217, 218. Their suspicions 
of General Allard’s proceedings, 218. 
Result of their scheme for opening 
the Indus, 221—224. The restora¬ 
tion of Shah Shooja determined on, 
224. Sir William Macnaghten’s ne¬ 
gotiations, 224, 225. Interchange 
of hospitalities between Runjeet 
Singh and Lord Auckland, 226. Re¬ 
lief of the British troops in Caubul, 
232. Negotiations respecting the 
traffic on the Indus, 233, 234. and 
note. Neutrality of the English 
towards Chund Kdur; Dost Ma¬ 
homed surrenders to their forces, 
239. Their fears for general tran¬ 
quillity during the outbreak of the 
Sikh army, 242. Their erroneous 
estimate of Sikh prowess, ib. and 
note. Their proposed interference 
in Sikh affairs; Sher Singh’s ex¬ 
pressive dissent, 243. Consequences 
of Major Broadfoot’s movements, 
244, 245. They compel Zorawur 
Singh to relinquish his conquests, 
249. Their connection with Mata- 
bur Singh, 249. note. Their policy 
clashes with the projects of the Jum- 
moo Rajas, 251, 252. The Caubul 
disasters. See “ Caubul.” Their con¬ 
tinuous distrust of the Sikhs, 253, 
and note. They appeal to the Sikhs, 
who aid them, 253—256. Mutiny 
and return to duty of their Sepoys, 
268, 269. Their discussions with 
Heera Singh concerning the Naba 
Raja’s conduct, 269 ; and also con¬ 
cerning Soochet Singh’s buried trea¬ 
sure, 269, 270. Observations on the 
principles involved in the latter dis¬ 
cussion, 270, 271. notes. Imminence 
of a war between them and the Sikhs, 
281. Their apprehensions of the con¬ 
sequences of the predominance of the 
Sikh army, 282. They repudiate 
their policy of 1809, 283. Their 
cantonment at Feerozpoor, 284. and 
note. Their views relative to Pesha- 
wur, 285, 286. Gradual increase 



456 


INDEX. 


of their troops stationed in the Pun¬ 
jab, 286. note. Influence of the 
character of their agent on the Sikhs, 
287. Importance of due attention 
to the qualifications of their political 
representatives, ibid. note. Their 
faulty policy the main cause of the 
war with the Sikhs, 294, 295. Their 
continued low opinion of the arma¬ 
ment and skill of the Sikhs, 295, 296. 
and note. Their unpreparedness for 
a campaign, 296, 297. and notes. 
Extent of their forces, 298. and 
note. The action at Moodkee a 
military surprise, 301. notcf. Their 
battles with the Sikhs. See “ Alee- 
wal,” “ Buddowal,” “ Moodkee,” 
“ P’heerooshuhur,” “ Subraon.” 
Submission of the Sikhs, 320*, 321. 
liatification of terms with their 
chiefs, 321—326. Inefficiency of 
their police, 329. note. Necessity 
for magazines and granaries, 331. 
note. Modifications required in their 
military system, ib. note. Limited ex¬ 
tent of their intellectual influence in 
India, 365. See “ Proclamations,” 
“ Treaties.” 

Eusofzaees. — Localities occupied by 
them, 6. They become adherents of 
Syed Ahmed Shah, 192. Cause of 
their abandoning him, 194. and note. 

Fane, Sir Henry, visits Lahore; his 
military suggestions, 219. and note. 
His transactions with ltunjeet Singh, 
220 . 

Feerozshah. See “ P’heerooshuhur.” 

Feerozpoor, rejection of Ilunjeet Singh’s 
claim to, 188. and note. Its import¬ 
ance in the esteem of the British 
agents, 188, and note. Its occupa¬ 
tion by the British, 284. The 

Sikhs march thither, 294. Ma¬ 

noeuvres of their leaders there, 298. 
Sir John Littler confronts them, 
929. 

Feizoolapooreeas, the, 107. Their rank 
among the Misls, ib. Their posses¬ 
sions, 108. 

Ferokhseer slays Jehandar Shah, 85. 
He overthrows the Sikhs, ib. De¬ 
tention of the English mission to 
him, 125. 

Food, scriptural injunctions relative 
to, 384. 

Forster, the traveller ; estimate of the 


Sikhs by, 126. His prophetic re¬ 
mark, 127. and note. 

Foulkes, Mr., killed by the Sikh sol¬ 
diers, 241. 

France; effect of its designs on India 
on the policy of the English towards 
the Sikhs, 137, 138. 

Francklin, Colonel, description of the 
Sikhs by, 126. 

Fraser, Mr., 212. note. 

French officers arrive at Lahore, 173. 
They aid in disciplining the Sikhs, 
177. See “ Allard,” “ Avitabile,” 
“ Court,” “ Ventura.*’ 

Futteh Khan becomes Shah Mehmood’s 
Vuzeer, 150. Is suspected of leaguing 
with Shah Shooja, 152. Marches 
against Cashmeer, 153. J Attempts 
to overreach Ilunjeet Singh ; takes 
Cashmeer; is defeated by Mokhum 
Chund, 154. His cautious proceed¬ 
ings, 155. Kamran !murders him; 
the assassin’s pretext, 159, 160. 

Futteh Khan Towana attempts an in¬ 
surrection, 265. Insignificance of 
his proceedings, 267. Renews his 
attempts, 272. Is taken into favour, 
274. He procures the assassination 
of Peshawura Singh, 278. 

Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea allies him¬ 
self with the English, 129; and 
with Ilunjeet Singh, 131. Is re¬ 
called by Holkar’s movements, 132. 
Occupies Ootch, 158. His position 
in Ilunjeet Singh’s esteem, 183. His 
flight and recall, 186. and note. His 
title to his possessions confirmed, 188. 

Futteh Singh Man, waylaid and slain 
by Golab Singh’s troops, 275. 

Garden, Lieutenant-Colonel, compiles 
a map of Lahore, 219. 

Gardner, Captain, 237. note. 

Getae, supposed identity of the modern 
Juts with the, 20. note. 

Ghazeeooddeen, conduct of, towards 
Munnoo’s widow, 96. and note. His 
submission to Ahmed, ib. His al¬ 
liance with the Mahrattas, 97, 98. 
He kills the emperor, 98. 

Gholam Mahomed invites Shah Zu- 
man to invade India, 119, 120. note. 
Consequences of his impolitic ad¬ 
vice to Sunsar Chund, 135. note. 

Gholam Moheiooddeen, governor of 
Cashmeer, 251. 

I Gholam Qadir thwarts the schemes of 



INDEX 


457 


the Mahrattas, 121. His atrocity 
towards Shah Alum, ib. 

Ghunda Singh surrenders Mooltan, 
115. 

Ghuneias. See “ Kuneias.” 

Gnodoop Tunzin, King of Ludakh, 
failure of the design of, 248. 

God — the Godhead— Sikh defini¬ 
tions relative to, 377, 378. 

Golab Singh, (Raja of Jummoo) ori¬ 
gin of, 181. Enters Runjeet Singh’s 
service; becomes one of his favour¬ 
ites, 182. Ilis forces reduce Ludakh; 
the Cashmeer governor’s complaint 
against him, 206. His complicity in 
Cheit Singh’s murder, 230. note. 
Death of his son, 236, His views 
regarding Chund Kbur’s regency, 
240. His usurpations in Tibet, 
247. His deputy Zorawur Singh’s 
proceedings,defeat, and death, 247— 
250. His commander seizes the 
Lassa Vuzeer; he signs a treaty 
of peace, 250, 251. Ceremonies 
observed between the contracting 
parties, 251. note. His transac¬ 
tions in Cashmeer, 251. His no¬ 
mination to Peshawur vetoed by 
the English, 252. He proceeds to 
aid the English ; they doubt his 
sincerity, 255. and note. Confer¬ 
ences regarding his acceptance of 
Jellalabad, 256, 257. His conduct 
under Heera Singh, 264. He 
forms the siege of Seealkot, 265. 
His contention and reconciliation 
with Pundit Julia, 272. His tactics 
after the elevation of Jowahir Singh ; 
he bribes the Punchayets, 274. His 
share in Butchna’s murder, 275. He 
submits to the Sikh army. 275, 276. 
He encourages Peshawura Singh’s 
rebellion, 277. He holds aloof 
after Jowahir Singh’s assassination, 
280. Major Broadfoot’s statement 
relative to him, 291. note. He joins 
in urging the Sikhs against the 
English, 292. The soldiers hail him 
as minister, 312. His fruitless jour¬ 
ney to Lahore, ibid. His double- 
faced conduct, 315. He negotiates 
with the English, 317. 321. Objects 
desired by him, 322. and note. He 
brings the Governor-General to ac- 
count, 323. Arrangements come to, 
323, 324. His recognition as an in¬ 
dependent ruler, 324. Ilis per¬ 


sonal characteristics, ibid. note. His 
treaty with the British, 435. 437. 

Googa, or Goga, a local deity ; tra¬ 
dition concerning him, 11. note. 

Goojers, the, localities inhabited by 
them; their history yet unknown, 
6 . Pastoral life preferred by them, 
14. 

Goojranwala fortified by Churrut 
Singh, 99. Its successful defence, 
100 . Its present state, ib. note. 

Goorbukksh Singh killed, 118. Be¬ 
trothal of his daughter to Runjeet 
Singh, ib. 

Goor Das ; character and influence of 
his teachings, 51. Exclusion of 
his writings from the Grunt’h, 52. 
note. 

Goordut or Goorditta ; legend of his 
death, 58. note. 

Goordut Singh deprived of his posses¬ 
sions, 128. 

Goorkhas, the, invest Kanggra, and 
overthrow Sunsav Chund, 134, 135. 
and note. Their characteristics, 165. 
note. 173, 174. Their military de¬ 
ficiencies, 174 Their overtures to 

Runjeet Singh, 185. See “ Ummer 
Singh Thapa.” 

Goormookh Singh ingratiates himself 
with Sher Singh, 261. Excites 
Dhian Singh’s apprehensions, 262. 
Ileera Singh puts him to death, 263. 

Gooroomutta, first celebration of the, 
100 . Its character and constitution, 
104. and note. 

Gooroos-The title of “ true King ” 

assumed by them, 63. Their deifi¬ 
cation forbidden, 379. See “ Nanuk,” 
“ Unggud,” “ Ummer Das,” “ Ram 
Das,” “ Arjoon,” “ Hur Govind,” 
“ llur Raee,” “ Hurkishen,” “ Tegh 
Buhadur,” “ Govind,” and Appen¬ 
dix XIX. 377, 391. 

Gorukhnath ; peculiarities of the sect 
established by him, 33. and note. 

Gough, Lord, joined at Ambala by 
Lord Hardinge, 297, 298. His vic¬ 
tory at Moodkee, 301. His esti¬ 
mate of the Sikh forces, ib. note. 
The engagement at. P’heerooshuhur, 
302—304. His alleged amenability 
to the charge of delay at P’heeroo¬ 
shuhur, 315. note. His victory at 
Subraon, 320-—320*. Ilis estimate 
of the Sikh forces, 320*. note. 

Govind succeeds Tegh Buhadur, 63. 



458 


INDEX. 


Impression produced on him by his 
father’s fate ; his twenty years’ se¬ 
clusion ; development of his cha¬ 
racter, 64. and note. His resolu¬ 
tions, views, and motives, 65. and 
note. His mode of presenting his 
mission, 66. and notes. Legend re¬ 
garding his reformation of Nanuk’s 
Sect, 67. Principles inculcated by 
him ; the “ Khalsa,” and the 
“ Pahul,” 68. His watchwords for 
his followers; his omen, 69. He 
founds the sect of “ Singhs; ” his 
form of initiation, 70. He de¬ 
nounces opposing sects, 71. Feasi¬ 
bility of his designs, 73. His plan 
of opposition, military resources, 
and influence as a religious teacher, 

74. His victory over the Pu- 
thans; his allies on the occasion 

75. Suspicion excited by his suc¬ 
cesses, 75, 76. His reverses; as¬ 
sassination of his children ; his 
flight, 76. He repulses his pur¬ 
suers ; composes the Vichitr Natuk, 
77. His replies to Aurungzeb’s 
summons, 78. He enters the im¬ 
perial service; his rashness, 79. 
His assassination and dying injunc¬ 
tions, 80. Legends relating to his 
last moments, ib. note. Results of 
his labours on the character of the 
reformed Hindoos, 81,82. 88. Com¬ 
position and synopsis of the contents 
of the book of Govind, 372—376. 
He discountenances infanticide, 385. 
His narrative of his mission, 388. 
390. His Iiehet Nameh, 394—396. 
His Tunkha Nameh, 396—399. See 
“ A dee Grunt’ll.” 

Grunt’h, the. See “ Adee Grunt’h.” 

Gudhees, the, 7. 

Gukkers ; localities inhabited by them, 
6. Their characteristics, 16. Their 
waning valour, 112. 

Hafiz Ahmed Khan succumbs to Run- 
jeet Singh, 162. 

Hamilton, Mr., surgeon to the En¬ 
glish mission to Ferokhseer; value 
of his services, 125. note. 

Hardinge, Viscount, increases his mi¬ 
litary forces, 286. note. He joins 
Lord Gough at Ambala, 297. His 
equipment of the army, ibid. note. 
His estimate of the Sikh forces, 
298. notes. His intrepidity at P’hee- 


rooshuhur, 303. His compliment 
to the infantry, 304. note. His Pro¬ 
clamation after the battle, 306. note. 
His direction to Sir Charles Napier, 
308. note. He opens negotiations 
with Golab Singh, 315. His re¬ 
sponsibility relative to the commis¬ 
sariat, ibid. note. Understanding 
come to with the Sikh chiefs, 317. 
He receives the submission of 
Dhuleep Singh, 321. His views 
towards the Sikhs, ib. His inten¬ 
tions regarding Golab Singh, 322. 
and note. Golab Singh’s application 
to him; completion of arrange¬ 
ments between them, 323, 324. 

Harlan, Dr., course pursued by him, 
212 . note. Proceeds as envoy to 
Dost Mahomed, 215. 

Hastings, Warren; his plan for guard¬ 
ing Oude against the Sikhs, 126. 

Heera Singh attracts Runjeet Singh’s 
notice, 189. His marriage, 190. He 
avenges his father’s assassination; 
becomes Vuzeer to Dhuleep Singh 
263. He increases the pay of the 
Sikh army, 264. His difficulties ; 
lie suppresses various attempts at 
insurrection, 265, 266, 267. His 
tactics towards the army, 268. Llis 
discussions with the English con¬ 
cerning Soochet Singh’s buried trea¬ 
sure, 269, 270. His confidential ad¬ 
viser Pundit Julia, 271, 272. He 
loses the confidence of the army and 
is slain, 273. Regret excited by his 
fate, 274. 

Heiatoolla Khan; story concerning 
him, 94. note. 

Hero-worship, introduction of, by 
Ramanund, 32. 

Hindoos; their prevalence as shop¬ 
keepers in certain districts, 10. In¬ 
fluence of Mahometanism on their 
national character, 20. Effects of 
Govind’s labours, 82. 

Hindooism, influence of, amongst the 
forest tribes, 18. See “Brahminism.” 

Hindoostan becomes a portion of the 
Mahometan world, 29. 

Hingh un Khan’s possessions ravaged 
by the Sikhs, 100. He is slain, 101. 
and note. 

Holkar, Jeswunt Rao, the Mahratta 
Chief, overpowered by Ahmed Shah, 
98 ; participates in the siege of 
Delhi, 102. He thwarts Sindhia’s 



INDEX 


459 


influence, 122, 123. Projects the 
invasion of Upper India, 127. He 
is repulsed, 128. Characteristic 
anecdote of him, ib. note. Asrhin 
advances on Upper India, 132. He 
retires, 134. 

Hough, Major, services of, to Runjeet 
Singh, 221. and note. 

Humboldt, testimony of, to the value 
of the scientific labour of the Arabs, 
32. note. 

Hur Govind, succeeds Arjoon, 52. 
His revenge upon Chundoo Shah, 52, 
53. He leads the Sikhs to battle, 
and modifies their religious tenets, 
53. His body guard; his influence 
on Sikhism; his imprisonment, 54, 
and 55. note. His petty warfare ; 
retirement to the Wastes, 55. He 
kills his friend Payenda; his death, 
56. and note. Self-immolation of his 
disciples on the occasion, ib. His 
philosophical views ; characteristic 
anecdotes of him, 57, 58. His ad¬ 
ditions to the reforms of his pre¬ 
decessors, 88. See Appendix IX., 
356, 357. 

Hurkishen succeeds Hur Raee; his 
succession settled by Aurungzeb; 
his early death, 59, 60. 

Hur Raee succeeds Hur Govind, 58. 
He becomes a political partizan; his 
death, 59. Sanctity of his name; 
sects claiming descent from him, ib. 
note. 

UI urree Singh, 15. note. Heads the 
Bunghees, 112. Comes to terms 
with the Daoodpotras; his death, 
113. Its cause and date, 115. note. 

II urree Singh Nulwa, receives a mili¬ 
tary command from Runjeet Singh, 
183. His forces receive a check, 
185. They oppose Syed Ahmed 
Shah, 193. His jealousy of Khur- 
ruk Singh, 196. and note. He op¬ 
poses Dost Mahomed ; is slain, 216, 
217. and note. Runjeet Singh’s grief 
at his death, 221. 

Hurreeana desolated by famine, 116. 

Image worship forbidden amongst the 
Sikhs, 380. 

Incarnations according to the Sikh 
Scriptures, 378, 379. 

India, early history and vicissitudes of, 
19. Influence of Mahometanism on 


its people, 20. Backward state of 
its civilization, 283. Its popula¬ 
tion, 342—344. Its system of caste, 
346, 347. Its land-tax and land- 
tenure, 365, 366. 

Indians, philosophical systems of the, 
348—350. Characteristics of their 
“ Maya,” 351, 352. Metaphysics of 
their reformers, 352, 353. 

Indigo, Rajpoot aversion to the culti¬ 
vation of, 362. 

Indus, the ; scheme of the English for 
opening it to commerce, 197. Their 
proposals to the Sindhians and the 
Sikhs, 198. Project in which the 
scheme ended, 221. et seq. Nego¬ 
tiations regarding the tolls to be 
levied, 233, 234. and note. 

Infanticide discountenanced by Govind, 
385. 

Iskardo taken by Zorawur Singh, 247. 

Islamism. See “ Mahometanism.” 

Jaee Singh assassinates Jhunda Singh; 
his league with Jussa Singh Alhoo- 
waleea, 114. His contest with 
Muha Singh; his son slain, 118. 

Jaee Singh Atareewala follows Dost 
Mahomed Khan, 159. See also 160. 
note. Joins Mahomed Azeem Khan, 
162. Is pardoned by Runjeet Singh, 
164. 

Jats. See Juts. 

Jehan Dad Khan seizes Shah Shooja, 
152. Peshawur made over to him by 
Runjeet Singh, 160. He surrenders 
it without attempting a defence, ib. 

Jehandar ShahsucceedsBuhadur Shah; 
is defeated and slain, 85. 

Jeins, connection of the sect of, with 
the Boodhists, 24. note. Their pious 
regard for insects, 43. note. Their 
philosophical tenets, 350. 

Jeinism, extension of, by the Mar- 
waree traders, 334, 335. 

Jellalabad; discussions regarding its 
bestowal on Golab Singh, 256, 
257. 

Jeswunt Singh of Naba rids himself of 
Runjeet Singh’s mediation, 1.34. 

Jhunda Singh reduces Jummoo, 113. 
Occupies Mooltan; is assassinated, 
114 . 

Jindan, Ranee, a wife of Runjeet 
Singh, (afterwards Muharanee), 
238. Her connection with Lai 
Singh ; she excites the soldiers 




460 


INDEX. 


against Pundit Julia, 273. She ex¬ 
ercises supreme power, 280. Her 
alleged immoralities, 292. 

Jodh Singh Ramgurlieea invests Kus- 
soor, 135. Seizure of his posses¬ 
sions after his death, 158. 

Jodh Singh Kulseea refuses to wel¬ 
come the British troops, 139. Hos¬ 
tilities commenced against him, 142. 
His grounds of complaint, ib. note. 

Joghees, characteristics of the sect of, 
33. and note. 

Johyas, localities occupied by the, 7. 
Error of Tod regarding them, ib. 
note. Their migrations, 17. 

Jowahir Singh possesses himself of 
Dhuleep Singh, 264. He attempts 
to gain over the Sikhs, and is im¬ 
prisoned, 265. His release and re¬ 
sumption of his place at court, 266. 
Is treated with contempt by Pundit 
Julia, 273. He attains an influen¬ 
tial position, 274. His aim, 275. 
Appointed Vuzeer, 276. His anx¬ 
iety relative to Peshawura Singh, 
277. He instigates the assassination 
of Peshawura Singh, 278. He ex¬ 
cites the anger of the soldiery, ib. 
His perplexities, condemnation, and 
execution, 279. Impression pro¬ 
duced by his trial ; his funeral, 
280. His intemperate habits, 292. 
note. 

Jowala Singh imprisoned and slain, 
261. note. 

Jubbar Khan charged with the defence 
of Cashmeer, 160. His defeat, 161. 
He seeks an alliance with the Brit¬ 
ish, 212. Sends his son to Loodi- 
ana, 213, 214. and note. 

Julia, the Pundit, directs the move¬ 
ments of Heera Singh ; his ambition, 
271. His animosity towards Golab 
Singh, 272. He excites the enmity 
of Ranee Jindan and Jowahir; at¬ 
tempts flight and is slain, 273. Ma¬ 
jor Broadfoot’s impression regard 
ing him, 290. note. 

Jummoo rendered tributary to Jhunda 
Singh, 113. 

Jummoo Rajas. See “ Dhian Singh,” 
“GolabSingh,” and “ SoochetSingh.” 
Their ambitious views clash with 
English policy, 251, 252. Pedigree 
of their family, 449. 

Jumrood, the.battle of, 216. 

Junjoohs, the, 6. 


Juns, personal appearance and occupa¬ 
tions of the, 16. 

Jussa Singh Kulla), the brewer, pro¬ 
claims the “ Dul ” of the “ Khalsa,” 
93. He coins money, 97. His 
league with Jaee Singh, 114. 

Jussa Singh, the carpenter, enters 
Adeena Beg’s service, 95. His for¬ 
tifications destroyed, 97. His de¬ 
feat and expulsion, 114. His pre¬ 
datory exactions, 117. His restor¬ 
ation to his possessions, 118, 119. 
note. 

Juts, or Jats, immigration of the; 
their supposed origin, 4. Their 
religious changes; effect of the in¬ 
troduction of Islamism, 5. The 
Juts of the central plains and 
the races intermixed with them, 8. 
Their industry and courage, 14. 
Characteristic saying regarding 
them, ib. note. Their supposed iden¬ 
tity with the Getae, 20. note. Their 
contests with Nujeebooddowla, 102. 
Particular description of the Juts 
and Jats, App. I. 341, 342. 

Kabulee Mull, nominated governor 
of Lahore, 101. The Sikhs eject 
him, 103. 

Kamran assassinates Futteh Khan ; 
his pretext for the crime, 159, 160. 
His precarious rule, 164. 

Kanphutta, origin of the term, 33. 

Kathees, the, 6. Their personal ap¬ 
pearance and occupations, 16. 

Keane, Lord, complaint made relative 
to Colonel Wade, to, 231. 

Kerowlee, origin of the chiefship of, 
7. note. 

Khalsa, signification of the term, 68. 
note. Extent of its adherents, 88. 
note. Its “ dul,” or army, 93. 
100 . 

Khatirs, the, 6. 

Khooshhal Singh becomes one of ltun- 
jeet Singh’s favorites, 181. Is ho¬ 
norably superseded, 182. 

Khorassan, the chief market for the 
indigo of Buhawulpoor and the 
lower Punjab, 3. note. Its occupa¬ 
tion by the British, 252. 

Khulasa, the, 88. 

Khuleels, the, 6. 

Khurruk Singh, marriage of, 147. 179. 
He captures Jummoo, 153. Attacks 
Mooltan, 158. Aids in the capture 



INDEX. 


461 


of Cashrneer, 161. Exchanges ci¬ 
vilities with Sunsar Chund’s son, 
165. Ilis indolent habits; birth 
of his son, Nao Nihal Singh, 179. 
His apprehensions as to the recog¬ 
nition of his rights, 196. and note. 
206. note. His succession secured 
by Dhian Singh’s artifice, 228. His 
right disputed by Sher Singh, 229. 
and note. Nao Nihal Singh usurps 
his power, 229, 230. Assassination 
of his favorite, 230. and note. Cause 
of his forced absence, 232. and note. 
His death, 236. 

Khuttuks, the, 6. 

Koh-i-noor. — Runjeet Singh attempts 
to obtain the celebrated diamond so 
named, 153. He succeeds, 155, and 
note. Shah Shooja offers to confirm 
his title to it, 201. 

Kohlees, the, 7. 

Kootubooddeen expelled from Kus- 
soor by llunjeet Singh, 135. 

Kowra Mull, enters Munno’s service, 
93. His origin, ib. note. Defeats 
Shah Nuwaz Khan, 94. Is killed, 95. 

Krora Singheeas, origin of the, 107 ; 
their military acquisitions, 108. 

Kshutrees of the cities, 8. Their en¬ 
terprising character, 9. Their pre¬ 
valence as traders in the northern 
towns, 10. Their eminence as finan¬ 
ciers, military leaders and govern¬ 
ors, 15. and note. Their descent; 
localities inhabited by them, 345. 

Kubeer; peculiarities of the creed in¬ 
troduced by him, 34. Speculations 
as to his actual existence, 35. note. 
See also p. 347. 

Kukkas, the, 5. Their religion, 9. 

Kuneias, the, 107. Their rank among 
the Misls, ib. Localities peopled by 
them, 108. Their defeat by Muha 
Singh, 118, 119. and note. 

Kunets, the, of the Himalayas, 7. 

Kunjur. See “ Chunggurs.” 

Kurruls, the, 6. 

Kwaja Obeid attacks Goojranwala, 99. 
His defeat and flight, 100. and note. 

Labh Singh defeats Uttur Singh and 
his confederates; his perils, 267. Is 
slain by the Sikh soldiery, 273. 

Ladwa, defection of the Raja of, 307. 
His personal character, ib. note. He 
burns a portion of the British can¬ 
tonment, 308. 


Lahore, contest for the viceroyalty of, 
92. Its re-annexation to Delhi, 96. 
Kabulee Mull nominated its go¬ 
vernor, 101. It falls into the hands 
of the Sikhs, 103. Its cession to 
Runjeet Singh, 120. Sher Singh’s 
attack on it, 240. Its army; tabular 
statement, 446, 447. Pedigree of its 
reigning family, 448. See “ Procla¬ 
mations,” “ Treaties.” 

Lake, Lord, receives allegiance and 
aid from the Sikh chiefs, 127, 128. 
Repulses Holkar, 128. Comes to 
terms with him, 129. Forms al¬ 
liances with Sikli leaders, 129, 130. 

Lai Singh of Kythul tenders his alle¬ 
giance to the English, 127. Re¬ 
ceives Lord Lake’s thanks, 128. 
Renders further aid, 129. Is sub¬ 
stantially rewarded, 130. and note. 

Lai Singh, the Brahmin, his connec¬ 
tion with Ranee Jindan, 273. His 
elevation to power, 274. He fo¬ 
ments the enmity of the soldiery 
against Jowahir Singh, 279. Is no¬ 
minated Vuzeer, 280. Date of his 
appointment, 299. note f. His scheme 
for depriving the Sikh army of 
power, 292, 293. 299. His com¬ 
munications with Captain Nicolson, 
299. note *. His treachery to his 
troops, 301. Their discomfiture, 
304. FI is treason probably unknown 
to the English chiefs, ibid. note. His 
fear, 312. His position and move¬ 
ments at Subraon, 318. 320. His 
self-gratulations, 322. His appre¬ 
hensions of Golab Singh, 323. His 
restoration to power, 324. 

Lamaic Boodhism. See “ Boodism.” 

Land-tax in India, 365. 

Land, tenure of, in India, 366. 

Lawrence, Colonel, afterwards Sir 
Henry, proposes to confer Jellala- 
bad on Golab Singh, 256. and note. _ 

Lehna, or Unggud. See “ Unggud.” 

Lehna Singh Sindhanwala imprisoned 
by his own soldiers, 244. He mur¬ 
ders Pertab Singh, 262. Is slain 
at the instance of Heera Singh, 
263. 

Lehna Singh Mujeetheea, consequences 
of a misunderstanding concerning 
him, 259. Cause of the misunder¬ 
standing, 260. note. He quits La¬ 
hore under pretence of pilgrimage, 
273. and note. 





462 


INDEX. 


Lingam, characteristics of the worship 
of the, 24. note. 

Littler, Sir John, confronts the Sikhs 
at Feerozpoor, 299. Junction of his 
troops with those of Lord Gough, 
301, 302. 

Ludakh; its rigorous winters ; its va¬ 
luable shawl wools and crops of 
grain, 2. and note. Its people, 5. 
Their religion, 9. Its reduction by 
the Jummoo Rajas, 206. 

Lunggas, the, of the South, 7. 

McCaskill, Sir John; Lord Ellen- 
borough’s feelings regarding his ex¬ 
pedition into Kohistan, 257. note. 

Mackeson, Major, 256. note. 

Macnaghten, Sir William, deputed to 
negotiate with Runjeet Singh, 224. 
and note, 225. and note, 226. note. 
His conduct relative to the Cau- 
bul disasters, 252. His proposition 
regarding Peshawur, 285. 

Maddock, Sir Herbert; advice given 
by him, 253. note. 

Mahomed Azeem Khan compels Shah 
Shooja to retreat, 151. He defeats 
Runjeet Singh’s forces; his cle¬ 
mency, 157. He proclaims Shah 
Ayoob, 160. Endeavours to secure 
Peshawur, 162, 163. Is defeated, 
164. He trifles with Shah Shooja, 
166, 167. His death, 164. 

Mahometanism ; its introduction into 
India, 4, 5. Localities in which its 
professors seek no converts, 10. 
Corrupt, yet possessing vitality, and 
proselytising, 12. 17. Its gradual 
extension in Tibet, and generally in 
towns and cities, 17, 18. Impulse 
given to it by the conversion of the 
Toorkmuns, 29. Action and reac¬ 
tion of it and Brahminism, 30. Its 
influence on European institutions, 
31. note. 

Mahometans; fondness of those of 
the Indus for blue clothing, 3, note. 
Conquest of India by them, 29. 
Evidences of their piety and muni¬ 
ficence; they become Indianized, 30. 
Their astronomical reforms, ib. and 
note. Their class divisions, 347. 

Mahrattas, invitation of the, by Gha- 
zeeooddeen, 97. Their union with 
the Sikhs, 98. Their defeat and 
expulsion from the Punjab, 98, 99. 
Restoration of their power under 


Sindhia, 121. Their characteristics 
and present position, 173. Their 
military deficiencies, 174. 

Malees, characteristics of the, 14. 

Malwa, the Sikh district of; reason of 
its being so called, 8. 

Marwaree Traders, recent spread of 
the, 333. Extension of Jeinism by 
them, 334. 

Masson, Mr., 212; his estimate of 
Runjeet Singh’s forces and reve¬ 
nue, 227. note. 

Matabur Singh ; sketch of his career, 
249. note. 

Maya, moral application of the doctrine 
of, 28. Kubeer’s use of the term, 
34. 351. Its particular character¬ 
istics, 351, 352. 

Meer A bool Hassan robs Shah Shooja, 
and impedes the escape of his family, 
155. 

Meehan Singh abandons Iskardo to 
Zorawur Singh, 247. Is killed by 
the Sikh soldiers, 241. 

Mehmood, Invasion of India by, 29. 

Mehmood (brother of Shah Zuman) 
thwarts the Shah’s designs, 119, 1 20. 
Deposes and blinds his brother, 132. 
Is himself deposed, ib. Regains the 
throne, 150. His conference with 
Runjeet Singh, 152. Results of 
operations against Cashmeer, 154. 
Futteh Khan’s services to him, 154, 
155. His precarious rule, 164. 

Mehtab Kdur (Sudda Kdur’s daugh¬ 
ter) betrothed to Runjeet Singh, 118. 
177. Her accouchment; stratagem 
on the occasion, 178. 

Mehtums, characteristics and migra¬ 
tions of the, 17. 

Metaphysics of Indian reformers, 352, 
353. 

Metcalfe, Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles, 
and subsequently Lord Metcalfe) 
proceeds on a mission to Runjeet 
Singh, 138—141. His politic sug¬ 
gestions, 142. 

Migrations of the tribes of India, and 
their causes, 17. 

Miraculous powers disclaimed by Na- 
nuk, 42. and note. 380. 

Misls ; nature of the Sikh confederacies 
so called, 106. Their names and ori¬ 
gin, 106, 107. note. Their relative 

preeminence, 107. Their posses¬ 

sions, 108. Their military strength, 
109. Cessation of their importance, 



INDEX. 


463 


1 33. Sir D. Ochterlony’s views re¬ 
garding them, 144. 

Misser Behlee Ram, assassinated, 263. 

Mit’h Singh Behraneea, 183. note. 

Mobarik Khan comes to terms with 
Hurree Singh, 113. 

Moghul Empire, character and con¬ 
dition of the, at the date of Go- 
vind’s intended assault on it, 72, 73. 
Causes and consequences of its de¬ 
cay, 89, 90. 

Mohkum Chund, 15. note; enters Run- 
jeet Singh’s service, 136. His employ¬ 
ment, 137. 152. Is outstripped by 
Futteh Khan. Defeats the latter, 
154. Runjeet Singh neglects his 
warning, 156, 157. His death, 157. 
note. 

Monastic orders of India, 25, 26. In¬ 
fallibility assumed by their supe¬ 
riors, 27. The establishment at Nu- 
derh, 81. note. 

Moodkee, the battle of, 301. British 
loss in killed and wounded, ibid. note. 

Mool Raj succeeds Sawun Mull as go¬ 
vernor of Mooltan, 276. Submits 
to the terms dictated by the Lahore 
Court, 277. and note. 

Mooltan ; its heat and dust-storms; 
importance of its position, 2. Value 
of its products; its freedom from 
periodical rains, 3. and note. Its 
surrender to Jhunda Singh, 114. 
Its capture by Runjeet Singh, 158, 
159. Mutiny of its troops, 276, 
277. and note. 

Moorcroft, the traveller ; his anecdote 
of the Oodassees, 13. note. His re¬ 
ception by Runjeet Singh, 169. Ob¬ 
tains a Russian letter to the Muha- 
raja, 170. 

Mouran, disputes relative to, 269. 

Moyen-ool-mook. See “ Munnoo.” 

Mozuffer Khan, governor of Mool¬ 
tan, corresponds with the British, 
151. Is slain with his sons, 159. 
and note . 

Muha Singh protected by Jaee Singh; 
he wars against him; his rising in¬ 
fluence and early death, 118. 

Mujja Singh repulsed and slain, 114. 

Munnoo becomes governor of the 
Punjab; his policy; he disperses 
the Sikhs, 93. and note. Capitu¬ 
lates with Ahmed Shah; defeats 
Shah Nuwaz Khan, 94. and note. 
violates his treaty; is defeated by 


Ahmed, and becomes his vassal, 94, 
95. His death, 96. Strategetic pro¬ 
ceedings of his widow; Ghazeeood- 
deen’s retaliation; her treatment 
of Bekaree Khan, 96. and note. 

Murray, Captain, his estimate of Run¬ 
jeet Singh’s forces and revenue, 227. 
note. 

Murray, Dr., nominated surgeon to 
Runjeet Singh, 186. 

Naba, disputes of the Raja of, with 
the English, 269. 

Nadir Shah, 92. 112, 113. note. 

Nanuk, birth and early life of, 36, 37. 
Legends connected therewith, 37. 
note. His mental struggles and 
wanderings, 38. Traditional anec¬ 
dotes, ib. note. His advent as a 
teacher; his death, 39. and note. 
Elevating tendencies of his sys¬ 
tem, 40. Use made by him of 
Brahminism, 41. Miraculous pow¬ 
ers disclaimed, and asceticism dis¬ 
couraged by him, 42. and note. 
380. His conciliatory treatment 
of opposite sects ; extent of his 
reformation, 43. His care for his 
Sikhs , or disciples; their position 
at his death, 44. Legend of Leh- 
na’s faith in him, ib. and note. His 
reported dislike-of “Suttee,” 47. 
note. His ideas comprehended by 
Arjoon, 48; and popularised by 
Goor Das, 51. Measure of his la¬ 
bours, 87. Character of his philo¬ 
sophical allusions, 354, 355. His 
mission described, 386, 387. His 
admonitory, letters to Karon, 391— 
394. 

Nao Nihal Singh, grandson of Runjeet 
Singh, birth of, 179. Commands 
the forces against Peshawur, 204. 
Celebration of his marriage, 219, 
220. Usurps his father’s sove¬ 
reignty, 229, 230. Procures Cheit 
Singh’s assassination, 230. and note. 
His schemes against the Rajas of 
Jummoo, 234. His discussions with 
the English, who charge him with 
treachery, 235. His accidental death, 
236, 237. note. His character, 237. 

Napier, Sir Charles, note relative to a 
falsified speech of, 290. note. He 
orders troops to Kushmor, 291. 
Receives orders to march from 
Sindh, 308. note. 



464 


INDEX. 


Nassir Khan, conduct of, towards 
Ahmed Shah, 92. note. Is killed, 
93. 

Nerbudda, the river; peculiar sanctity 
attributed to it, and legends relating 
thereto, 33. note. 

Nicolson, Captain, views of, regarding 
the probable movements of the 
Sikhs, 297. note. Lai Singh’s com¬ 
munications with him, 299. note. 
His death, ib. His estimate of the 
Sikh force, 301. note. 

Nihungs, the. See “ Shuheeds.” 

Nishaneeas, the, 106. Their rank 
among the Misls, 107. Their pos¬ 
sessions, 108. and note. 

Nizamooddeen Khan ; character of his 
services to Shah Zuman, 120. Is 
defeated by, and becomes a feuda¬ 
tory of, Runjeet Singh, 131. 

Noor Mahomed offers to surrender 
Shikarpoor, 206. 

Nott, Sir William, receives carte 
blanche from Lord Auckland, 1258. 
note. Admiration of the Sikhs for 
him, 260. 

Nuderh, Govind killed at, 80. Cha¬ 
racter of its religious establish¬ 
ment, 81. note. 

Nujeebooddowla commands the Delhi 
army, 96. His defeat, 97. His 
victory over the Jats, 102. Frustra¬ 
tion of his plans by death, 113. 

Nukeias, the, 106. Their rank among 
the Misls; their possessions, 108. 

Nuwaz Khan usurps the vice-royalty 
of Lahore; his correspondence with, 
and defeat by, Ahmed Shah, 92. 
Opposes Munnoo, and is slain, 94. 

Ocliterloney, Sir David, successfully 
defends Delhi, 128. Leads troops 
across the Jumna, 139. His pro¬ 
ceedings disapproved of, ib. note. 
His representations to government, 
140. His proclamation, 140, 141. 
His report on the feelings of the 
Sikh chiefs, 141, 142. His admis¬ 
sion regarding his original policy 
towards the Sikhs, 144. Popularity 
of his name in Northern India, ib. 
note. Is present at Khurruk Singh’s 
marriage, 147. His apprehensions 
of success; his ally Rajah Ram- 
surrun, 150. note. His treatment 
of Shah Zuman’s son, 153. and note. 
His policy used as a precedent by 


Major Broadfoot, 289. note. See 
“ Proclamations.” 

Omichund outwitted by Clive, 126. 
His death, ib. note. 

Oodassees; patronising compliment 
paid by them to Moorcroft, 13. note. 
Nature of their creed, 45. and note. 
Their separation from the Sikhs, 
47. 

Pahul, signification of the term, 68. 
note. 70. 

Perron, General, operations of, crossed 
by George Thomas, 122. Over¬ 
comes Thomas, 124. Forms an 
alliance with Runjeet Singh; is 
superseded by Sindhia; flees to the 
English, 125. 

Persian wheel used for irrigation in 
the Punjab, 3. 

Pertab Singh (son of Sher Singh) vi¬ 
sited by Lord Ellenborough, 260. 
Murdered by Lehna Singh, 262. 

Peshawur; value of its cereal products, 
its dyes, drugs, &c., 4. Captured 
by Shah Shooja, 151. Sacked by 
Runjeet Singh, 164. Sir William 
Macnaghten’s and Sir Alexander 
Burnes’s proposals regarding it, 
285. 

Peshawura Singh attempts an insur¬ 
rection against Dhuleep Singh, 265. 
Renews his efforts for the sove¬ 
reignty, 272. His flight, and re¬ 
ception by the British agent, 273. 
and note. He escapes from British 
surveillance, 274. Golab Singh re¬ 
inspires him with hope, 275. Effect 
of his proceedings on Jowahir Singh, 

277. His checkered movements, 
flight, surrender, and assassination, 

278. Indignation excited by the 
act, 279. 

P’herooshuhur, effective force at, 298. 
note. Encampment of the Sikhs there, 
301. Derivation of the name, ib. 
note. The battle; defeat of the 
Sikhs, 302, 303. Its influence on 
the victors, 305. 

Philosophical systems of the Indians ; 
their divisions and tenets, 348—350. 

Phoola Singh, the Akalee, 163. note. 
Is slain, 164. His character, 165. 
note. 

Phoolkeas, origin and rank of the, 
107. Their possessions, 108. 

Pirt’hee Chund; his origin and de- 



INDEX. 


465 


scendants, 48. note. He disputes the 
succession to Arjoon, 52. 

Plato, comparison of the theories of, 
with Brahminism, 22. note. 23. and 
note. Identity of certain Oriental 
doctrines with his system, 33, 34. 
note. 

Political representatives in India; due 
discharge of the duties of, dependent 
on personal character, 287. and note. 

Pollock, General Sir George, receives 
aid from Golab Singh, 255. His 
proposed disposition of the Sikh le¬ 
vies at Caubul, 256. He abandons 
Jellalabad, and countenances Shah- 
poor’s accession, 257. and note. 

Polyandry, necessity of the custom 
of, amongst the Tibetans, 16. andraofe. 

Polytheism methodised by Shunkur 
Acharj, 25. 

Poorans ; character of the legends so 
named, 32. and note. 

Pottinger, Major, disapproves of the 
Caubul retreat, 252. note. 

Pottinger, Colonel, afterwards Sir 
Henry, proceeds to negotiate with 
the Sindhians, 198. 

Prinsep, Mr., views of, in reference 
to the Caubul policy, 253. note. 

Proclamations; protection of the Cis 
Sutlej states against Lahore (Feb. 
1809), 404, 405.; (May, 1809), 
407, 408. Protection to the Cis 
Sutlej states against one another 
(Aug. 1811), 409—411. Declara¬ 
tion of war (18*15), 426—428. 

“ Punch,” or “ Punchayet,” character 
and constitution of the, 246. 

Punjab, the; amount of its customs 
and excise duties, temp. Runjeet 
Singh, 3. note. Its Sikh population, 
343. Its revenues as estimated in 
1844, 442—4*16. 

Punjab, the central; its rivers; freedom 
from savage beasts; value of its 
cattle; and the products of its ar¬ 
tisans, 3. 

Punjab, the lower; importance of its 
indigo, 3. note. Ravaged by the 
Sikhs under Hurree Singh, 112. 

Punjgurheeas. See “ Krora Singheeas.” 

Puthans, the, 8. Their employment 
by Govind, 74. Their defection 
and defeat, 75. Their military and 
political character, 173, 174. Cha¬ 
racter of those in the British army* 
175. note. 

II 


Putteeala, the imbecile Raja of, suc¬ 
ceeds Ummer Singh, 116. His 
Amazonian sister repulsed by George 
Thomas, 123. Her exploits, 124. 
note. Holkar and Ameer Khan 
profit by the Raja’s differences with 
his wife, 128. Anecdote in refer¬ 
ence thereto, ib. note. Delivers his 
keys to Lord Lake, 129. He makes 
presents to Runjeet Singh, 134: 
who takes advantage of the dissen¬ 
sions between the Raja and Ranee, 
136. and note. 

Races of the Sikh country; their 
limits not identical with those of its 
religions, 9. Debased and secluded 
races, and worshippers of local 
deities, 10. Characteristics of race 
and religion, 11—14. Proportions 
of races and faiths in India, App. 
II., 342—344. 

Raee Singh harasses Nujeebooddowla, 
113. Receives employment under 
Sindhia, 121. 

Ragoba advances against Delhi, 97. 
Enters Lahore and makes Adeena 
Beg viceroy, 98. 

Ilaiens, location of the, 6. Their 
characteristics, 14. 

“ Raj” and “ Jog,” signification of the 
terms, 356. 

Rajpoots, characteristics of the, 14, 15. 
173, 17*1. Character of those in the 
British army, 175. note. 

Rama, deification of, 32. 

Ramanooj establishes a monastic fra¬ 
ternity, 26. Date of his existence, 
ib. note. 

Ramanund; characteristics of the re¬ 
ligious innovations introduced by 
him, 32. Antipathy of his followers 
to the River Nerbudda, 33. note. 

Ram Das succeeds Ummer Das, 47. 
Amritsir founded by him; his death; 
his sons, 48. and note. 

Ramgurheeas, the, 106. Their rank 
among the Misls, 107. Their pos¬ 
sessions, 108. 

Ram Raee disputes Tegh Buhadur’s 
succession to the Goorooship, 60. 
His hostility renewed, 61. Decline 
of his sect, 64. 

Ram Surrun renders active aid to the 
English ; his recollections of Sir D. 
Ochterloney, 150. note. 

Religions of India; spread of scepticism 

II 



466 


INDEX 


and heresy, 27. The doctrine of 
“ Maya,” 28. Action and reaction 
of Mahometanism and Brahminism, 
30. Unsettlement of the popular 
belief, 31. Result of the conflict of 
creeds, 32. Innovations of Rama- 
nund, ib. Gorukhnath’s reforms, 
33. Kubeer’s system, 34. Labours 
of Cheitun in Bengal, and of Vul- 
lubh in the south, 35. Character 
and tendency of the various systems, 
36. Advent of Nanuk and com¬ 
prehensiveness of his views, ib. See 
“ Nanuk.” Govind’s reforms. See 
“ Govind.” Religious hallucinations 
not necessarily an indication of in¬ 
sanity, 66. note. Advantage taken 
of religious prejudices, 247. note. 
See Appendices II., III., IV., 
342—347. 

Revenues of the Punjab as estimated 
in 1844, 442—446. 

Richmond, Lieut.-Colonel, succeeds 
Mr. Clerk as agent on the frontier, 
261. note. Is succeeded by Major 
Broadfoot, 287. 

Robertson, the historian, confirmation 
of his view of the Sikh character, 
127. note. 

Robertson, Mr., Lieutenant-Governor 
of Agra, 253. note. 

Rohillas, scheme for the expulsion of 
the, 98. and note. 

Runjeet Deo, of Jummo, date of the 
death of, 115. note. 

Runjeet Singh betrothed to Sudda 
Kdur’s daughter, 118. Develop¬ 
ment of his character ; he obtains a 
cession of Lahore, 120. Ilis alliance 
with Perron, 125. Holds aloof 
from Holkar; visits the British 
camp in disguise, 129. Becomes 
an ally of the British, 129, 130. 
Reduces the Bunghees and Puthans 
to submission; allies himself with 
Futteh Singh; repulses Sunsar 
Chund, 131. Marches south-west 
of the Punjab; is recalled by Hol- 
kar’s approach, 132. His projects 
of sovereignty, 133. Captures 
Loodiana, 134. and note. Attacks 
Kussoor and expels its chief, 135. 
Receives gifts from the Ranee of 
Putteeala; captures Nurayengurh, 
136. and note. Sikh fears excited 
by his aggressions, 137. His aver¬ 
sion to treat with the English 


envoy, 138. and note. Renews hos¬ 
tilities across the Sutlej, 138, 139. 
British troops oppose his progress, 
139, 140. He agrees to a treaty, 
141. Development of confidence 
between him and the English, 146, 
147. His defensive preparations, 
147. He outwits Sunsar Chund 
and Ummer Singh Thapa, and ac¬ 
quires Kanggra, 148. Permitted to 
cross the Sutlej, 149. His manoeuvres 
towards Shah Shooja, 150. Is foiled 
in his attempt on Mooltan, 151. 
His interview with Shah Mehmood, 

152. Is visited by Shah Zuman ; 
covets the Koh-i-noor diamond, 

153. His conference and subse¬ 
quent altercation with Futteh Khan, 

154. He obtains the diamond, 155. 
Is repulsed from Cashmeer, 156, 
157. He subdues various hill 
chiefs, 157, 158. Captures Mool¬ 
tan, 158, 159. Renews his efforts 
against Cashmeer; infringes his 
treaty with the English; captures 
Cashmeer, 160, 161. The Deraj at 
of the Indus annexed to his domi¬ 
nions, 161. Also Dera Ismaeel Khan, 
162. His quarrel with his mother- 
in-law ; interference of the English, 
162, 163. 178, 179. Fie marches 
against Peshawur, 163. Battle of 
Noshelira ; Peshawur sacked, 164. 
He compels Appa Sahib to quit his 
territories, 167. His apprehensions 
of Beer Singh’s machinations, 168, 
169. Mr. Moorcroft visits him, 

169. His system of government, 

170. Its fitness for his people, 171. 
His assiduity in religious matters, 
172. and note. Arrival of French 
officers at Lahore, 173. His efforts 
to introduce discipline amongst his 
troops, 175, 176. His military re¬ 
quisitions from his feudatories, 176. 
note. His French officers, 177. 
His marriages and family relations, 
ib. His wife Mehtab Kdur ; sup¬ 
posititious children imposed on him, 
178. His other wife; his son and 
grandson, 179. Degree of im¬ 
morality chargeable on him, 179. 
180. His favorites, 181, 182. Flis 
confidential servants and advisers, 
182, 183. and note. His position 
and military operations in 1824,1825, 
184, 185. Flis conduct towards 



INDEX. 


467 


Futteh Singh, 186. He seeks 
English medical aid ; his inquisitive¬ 
ness on the occasion, 186, 187. 
Interchanges compliments with the 
British representatives, 187. His 
discussions with them as to the 
limits of his territories, 188. As¬ 
cendency of his favorites ; his pro¬ 
tege, Heera Singh, 189. Splendour 
of his court at Heera Singh’s mar¬ 
riage, 190. IIis forces repel and 
ultimately annihilate Syed Ahmed 
Shah, 192—194. Height of his 
fame ; court paid to him by Indian 
princes, 195. His mission to, and 
conferences with, Lord William 
Bentinck, 195, 196. Their nego¬ 
tiations for opening the Indus to 
commerce, 197, 198. His specula¬ 
tions and suspicions concerning the 
negotiations of the English with 
the Sindhians, 198,199. Dispossesses 
Buhawul Khan of part of his terri¬ 
tories, 199. His interviews with 
Captain Wade, 199, 200. His cor¬ 
respondence with Shah Shooja, 200. 
Result of their discussions, 201,202. 

His apprehensions of Shah Shooja ; 
his troops assault Peshawur, 204. 
Failure of an attack on the Afghans, 
ib. His explanations to Captain 
Wade; he sends presents to King 
William, 205. Ludakh reduced 
by his forces, 206. His ambitious 
designs on Sindh, 206, 207. and 
note. He is held in check by the 
English; skirmishes of the Sikhs 
and the Sindhians, 207, 208. The 
English mediate between the belli- 
gerent parties, 209. He defers re¬ 
luctantly to English representations, 

210, 211. His position towards Dost 
Mahomed, 214. Dost Mahomed’s 
retreat, 215. Dost Mahomed defeats 
his forces at Jumrood, 216. His ne¬ 
gotiations with Dost Mahomed and 
Shah Shooja, 217. His display at his 
grandson’s marriage, 219. Insti¬ 
tutes a military order, 220. His 
dexterous endeavours to ingratiate 
himself with his English allies, 220, 

221. and note. His grief at Hurree 
Singh’s death, 221. Interference of 
the English with his designs, 222. 

Sir William Macnaghten’s mission 
to him, 224. and note. His visit to 
Jummoo; Golab Singh’s magnifi- 1 

II ii 2 


cent homage to him, 224. note. 
He finally accedes to the requisitions 
of the English, 225. and note. His 
friendly meetings with Lord Auck¬ 
land, 226. Expressive interchange 
of compliments on the occasion, ib. 
note. His death; results of his 
influence on the condition of the 
Sikhs, 227. Contemporary estimates 
of his revenue, forces, &c., ib. note. 
His personal habits and appearance, 
228. note. Artifices resorted to to 
ensure his son’s succession, 228. 
Pedigree of his family, 448. See 
“ Proclamations,” “ Treaties.” 

Runjor Singh; his division joined by 
the Raja of Ladwa, 307. His move¬ 
ments near Loodiana, 309. His un¬ 
faithfulness to his troops, 311. His 
march from Buddowal, 312. Ilis 
flight from Aleewal, 314. 

Russia seeks commercial relations with 
the Sikhs, 170. She sends agents to 
the banks of the Indus, 222. and 
note. Dost Mahomed welcomes her 
emissary, 223. 

Saca;, or Saka?, characteristics of the 
race of, 20. and note. 

Sadhoo Singh; effect of his enthusiasm 
in an assault on Mooltan, 158, 159. 

Sahib Singh Behdee invests Loodiana 
and opposes George Thomas, 123. 

Sahib Singh, Raja of Putteeala. See 
*'• Putteeala.” 

Saint worship forbidden amongst the 
Sikhs, 380. 

Saivism, characteristics of, 24. note. 

Sanscrit, advantage of, as a vehicle of 
education in India, 363, 364. 

Sawun Mull, 15. note. Made governor 
of Mooltan, 183. His assassination, 
276. 

Scandalmongers, prevalence of, in 
British India, 292. note. 

Scriptural writings of the Sikhs, Ap¬ 
pendices XVII., XVIII., XIX., 
XX., 367—399. 

Sedasheo Rao expels the Afghans from 
Delhi, 99. and note. 

Sepoys, mutiny and return to duty of 
the, 268, 269. Their notions of the 
prowess of the Sikhs, 294. and note. 
Their belief in the invulnerability 
of the British, 302. Their com¬ 
plaints, 305. Their despondency, 
311. Revival of their hopes, 319. 



468 


INDEX. 


Sevajee, the Mahratta chief, 73. His 
mercenaries, 74. note. 

Shah, various significations of the term, 
50. note. 

[Note.—The several names which 
bear the prefix of “Shah” are 
inserted in their places alpha¬ 
betically without such prefix.] 

Shahpoor succeeds Shah Shooja, 257. 
and note. 

Sham Singh’s resolution, 319. His 
heroic adherence to it, 319*. 

Sher Shah’s stronghold blockaded by 
the Sikhs, 112. 

Sher Singh of Booreea killed in ac¬ 
tion, 128. 

Sher Singh, birth of; virtually adopted 
by Runjeet Singh, 178. Aids Sool- 
tan Mahomed Khan, 193. His suc¬ 
cessful military operations, 194. He 
claims to succeed Runjeet Singh, 
229. Lord Auckland’s reply thereto, 
ib. note He renews his pretensions; 
Chund Kour supersedes him, 237. 
He is named her vicegerent, 238. 
He lays siege to Lahore, 239. The 
soldiers declare for him ; he is pro¬ 
claimed as Muharaja, 240. His 
army becomes uncontrollable, 241. 
He appeals to the English for help, 
242. His pantomimic dissent from 
Mr. Clerk’s proposals, 243. note. His 
ignorance of the commercial in¬ 
terests of his people, 247. He yields 
to English requisitions, and with¬ 
draws his troops from Lassa, 249, 
250. His proposal to reward Golab 
Singh vetoed by the English, 252. 
He hesitates regarding the exchange 
of Jellalabad for Ludakh, 256, 257. 
Interview between him and Lord 
Ellenborough proposed, 258. His 
misgivings concerning it, 259. and 
vote. The interview prevented, 260. 
He proceeds to Amritsir, 261. He 
mistrusts Dhian Singh, ib. As¬ 
sassination of his follower Jowala 
Singh, ib. note. His death by the 
hand of Ajeet Singh, 262. 

Shooja, Shah, deposes Shah Mehmood, 
132. Receives Mr. Elphinstone as 
British Envoy, 138. Is ejected by 
Shah Mehmood, 150. His confer¬ 
ences with Runjeet Singh, 150, 151. 
Captures Peshawur; is subsequently 
driven out, 151. Recaptures Pesh¬ 
awur; is seized and imprisoned, 152. 


His family repairs to Lahore; in¬ 
terviews of his wife with Runjeet 
Singh, 153. He falls into Runjeet 
Singh’s hands, 154; who obtains 
from him the Koh-i-noor diamond, 

155. note. His misfortunes, ib. 
Flight of his family; his attempt on 
Cashmeer; is honorably dismissed, 

156. and note. Failure of his efforts 
to reinstate himself, 166, 167. Beer 
Singh’s proposals to him, 168. Re¬ 
vival of his hopes ; his correspond¬ 
ence with various powers, 200. His 
negotiations with Runjeet Singh, 
and with the Sindhians, 201. En¬ 
glish indifference concerning his at¬ 
tempts, which excite Dost Maho¬ 
med’s apprehensions, 202, 203. and 
note. He defeats the Sindhians, 
but is routed by Dost Mahomed, 

203. 213. He returns to Loodiana, 

204. Runjeet Singh again trifles 
with him, 217. Wishes of the En¬ 
glish regarding him, 222. They 
resolve to replace him on his throne, 
224. Negotiations consequent 
thereon; Runjeet Singh’s acquies¬ 
cence gained, 224, 225. and notes. 
His maintenance dependent on 
British aid, 232. Discussions there¬ 
upon, 235. His family placed un¬ 
der Major Broadfoot’s charge, 244. 
Steps deemed advisable on his 
death, 257. Sir William Macnagh- 
ten’s proposal, 285. 

Shoojaooddowlaaids Ahmed Shah, 99* 

Shuheeds, the, 106. Their rank 
among the Misls, 107, 108. note. 
Their possessions, 108. 

Shunkur Acharj methodizes poly¬ 
theism, and establishes ascetic or¬ 
ders, 25. His origin, 26. note. 

Sikh country, geographical limits of 
the, 1. Its climate, productions, 
&c., 2, 3, 4. Variety of tribes and 
races by which it is peopled, 4—9. 
Various religions professed by its 
peoples, 9. Hindoo shopkeepers; 
village population of certain dis¬ 
tricts purely Sikh, 10. 

Sikhs, or “ disciples,” origin of the, 1. 
Their fondness for blue clothing, 3. 
note. Particular localities occupied by 
them, 8. Relative proportions of the 
principal races, ib. Their religions ; 
the Sikhs of the central plains, 9. 
Of “ Malwa,” 10. Character of 



INDEX 


469 


their religious faith, 13. Their en¬ 
thusiasm, energy, and anticipations 
of the future, 14. Nanuk’s injunc¬ 
tions to them, 43. Their position 
at his death, 44. and note. Taxation 
introduced by Arjoon, 49. Im¬ 
pulse given to their progress by the 
writings of Goor Das, 51. They 
become a distinct state within the 
empire, 57. Elevating tendencies of 
Govind’s labours, 82. They rally 
round Bunda, and avenge the 
slaughter of Govind’s children, 84. 
Their exploits and fortunes under 
Bunda, 85. Indignities inflicted 
upon them in captivity, 86. Their 
position after Bunda’s death. 87, 
88. note. Their conduct whilst un¬ 
der subjection ; cause of the vitality 
of their sect, 90. Renewal of their 
struggles for independence; their 
heroism and martyrdoms, 91. Their 
attack on Ahmed Shah, 92, 93. 
Their dispersal by Munnoo, 93. and 
note. Their defeat by Adeena Beg, 
95. Their expulsion from Amritsir ; 
their triumph at Lahore, 97. 
Their junction with the Mahrattas, 
98. They erect forts, 99. Their 
victory under Churrut Singh, 100. 
Their first “ Gooroomutta,” 100. 
Their great defeat in 1762, 100, 

101. Their attack on Kussoor, 101. 
They capture and destroy Sirhind, 

102. They possess Lahore; their 
assembly at Amritsir, 103. and 
note. Feudal nature of their fede¬ 
ration ; their Gooroomuttas, 103, 
104. Defects of their political sys¬ 
tem, 105. and note. Their “ Misls; ” 
106—109. See “Misls.” Their 
internal disagreements, 111. Ahmed 
Shah’s renewed attacks, 112. Ex¬ 
pedition from Delhi against them, 
116. Zabita Khan’s conciliatory 
advances, 117. Amusing instance 
of fear excited by their presence, 
ib. and note. Dawn of Runjeet 
Singh’s power, 120. Their alliance 
with Sindhia, 121. Their conflicts 
with George Thomas, 123. Their 
first intercourse with the English, 
125. and note. English aid solicited 
by them, 126. Early English es¬ 
timates of their character and ap¬ 
pearance, 126, 127. and note. Their 
chiefs proffer allegiance to Lord 

H H 


Lake, 127. Their services, 128, 
129. Nature of their alliance with 
the English, 130. Dissensions 
among their chiefs ; a Gooroomutta 
held; Runjeet Singh’s projects, 
133. Fears excited by his aggres¬ 
sions, 136, 137. The Sirhind chiefs 
protected by the British, 138. 
Terms agreed on between the par¬ 
ties, 141. Relations of the protected 
chiefs towards each other, 142. 
Perplexities of the British authori¬ 
ties concerning their various rights 
and customs, 143, 144. Character¬ 
istics of the Sikh soldiers, 173, 174. 
Contemporary notices; their match¬ 
locks, 174, 175. Runjeet Singh in¬ 
troduces military discipline, 175, 
.176. Completion thereof under 
the French generals, 177. Their 
regimental arrangements, ib. note. 
Extent of their amenability to 
charges of immorality, 180, 181. 
and notes. Effect of the commercial 
designs of the English on their po¬ 
sition and prospects, 184, 185. 

Their condition and progress under 
Runjeet Singh. See “Runjeet Singh.” 
Their dislike of Colonel YY r ade, 230. 
Their commercial negotiations with 
the English, 233, 234. note. Ex¬ 
cesses committed by their army, 241. 
Their worth as soldiers undervalued 
by the English, 242. and note. They 
become suspicious of the English, 
244. Major Broadfoot’s proceedings 
irritate them, 244, 245. Altered 
position of their army in relation to 
the State, 245. Its military organ¬ 
ization ; their “ Punchayets,” 245, 
246. and note. Their negotiations 
with the English relative to inland 
trade, 246, 247. Character of the 
religious obstacles interposed, 247. 
and note. Their conflicts with the 
Chinese, 248, 249. Their curious 
proposal of co-operation with the 
English, 249. note. Their defeat 
by the Chinese ; sufferings of their 
troops from cold, 250. Cessation of 
hostilities, 251. Their military ca¬ 
pabilities still distrusted by the 
English, 253. Aid rendered by 
them to the English, 253—256. 
Their view of the policy of aban¬ 
doning Afghanistan, 257. and note, 
258. note. Skilful movements of 



470 


INDEX. 


their troops before Lord Ellenbo- 
rough ; their admiration of Sir. W. 
Nott, 260. Their army increases 
its political influence, 264. Heera 
Singh’s tactics towards their sol¬ 
diers, 268. Their discussions with the 
English concerning Soochet Singh’s 
buried treasure, 269, 270. and note. 
The soldiers contemn Jowahir 
Singh’s conduct, 278. They bring 
him to trial and execute him, 279. 
Their army all-powerful, 280. The 
Indian public prepared for war be¬ 
tween them and the English, 281. 
Their fears of the English prepar¬ 
ations, 282 — 286. Influence of 
their estimate of the British agent 
on their feelings, 287. See “ Broad- 
foot, Major.” Tactics of their chiefs 
towards their army, 291, 292. and 
note . Their enthusiasm towards the 
“Khalsa,” 293. They virtually de¬ 
clare war, 293, 294. Their soldierly 
capabilities still undervalued by the 
English, 295, 296. and note f. Their 
designs discredited by the English 
authorities, 296. note §. Extent of 
their forces ; base objects contem¬ 
plated by their commanders, 299. and 
notes. Unity and determination of 
their troops, 300. Their repulse at 
the battle of Moodkee, 301. and note. 
Their intrepidity at P’herooshuliur, 
303. Treachery and flight of their 
leaders, 304. and note. They threaten 
Loodiana, and harass the British 
outposts, 307, 308. Their conflict 
with Sir Harry Smith’s troops at 
Buddowal, 309, 310. They plunder 
the British baggage, 311. Their 
elation at their temporary success, 
312. Their preparations for the 
battle of Aleewal, 312, 313. Their 
defeat, 314. Their chiefs desire to 
treat with the British, 315. Dis¬ 
graceful arrangement come to, 317. 
Their position preparatory to the 
battle of Subraon, 317, 318. The 
battle, 320—320*. Tej Singh’s 
treachery and flight, 319*. Sham 
Singh’s heroism, 319, 319*. Indo¬ 
mitable bravery of their troops, ibid. 
Estimate of their forces, and of their 
loss, 320*. note. Their manly bear¬ 
ing under defeat, 325. Existence 
of the principle of caste among 
them, 357. Religious injunctions 


concerning it, 358. Description ot 
their rites of initiation, 359. Their 
devotion to steel, 361. Their dis¬ 
tinctive usages, 362. Govind’s or¬ 
dinances and restrictions relative 
thereto, 394—399. List of their 
various sects, 400—402. See “Pro¬ 
clamations,” “ Treaties.” 

Sindh ; supply of sugar to its markets, 
3. It becomes a source of solicitude 
to Runjeet Singh, 196. ( See Sindh¬ 
ians.) Reasons why its commercial 
transactions are not more important, 
234. 

Sindhanwala chiefs. S'ee“Ajeet Singh,” 
“ Lehna Singh,” and “ Uttur Singh.” 

Sindhia overpowered by Ahmed Shah, 
98. He restores the Mahratta 
power in Upper India; his alliance 
with the Sikhs ; Delhi succumbs to 
him, 121. His views thwarted by 
Holkar and George Thomas, 122. 
He supersedes Perron, 125. 

Sindhians, the, receive commercial 
overtures from the English, 198. 
Shah Shooja’s negotiations with 
them, 200—202. They oppose and 
are defeated by him, 203. Runjeet 
Singh’s check upon them, 206, 207. 
note. Their disputes with the 
Sikhs, 208. The English mediate 
between them, 209, 210. 

“ Singlipooreeas.” See “ Feizoolapoo- 
reeas.” 

“ Singhs; ” initiation of their sect, 70. 
Meaning of the epithet, ib. note. 
Their rules of conduct, 7 1. 

Sirdar, explanation of the term, 106. 

Sirhind destroyed by the Sikhs, 102. 
Its importance as a military post, 
284. note. Nature of the protection 
afforded to its chiefs, 289. note. 

Siva; chosen by Shunkur Acharj as a 
type of Deity, 26; and by Go- 
rukhnath, 33. 

Smith, Sir Harry; skirmish of his bri¬ 
gade with the Sikhs at Buddowal, 
309, 310. Sikh boastings on the 
occasion, 311. His preparations for 
the battle of Aleewal, 312. Posi¬ 
tion taken by his troops, ibid. His 
victory, 314. Loss in killed and 
wounded, 315. note. His reported 
unwillingness to engage the enemy 
at Buddowal, ibid. note. 

Smyth, Major; impression of, relative 
to the sepoys, 296. note\.< 




INDEX. 


471 


Sobraon. See “ Subraon.” 

Sohun Singh proceeds to Lahore on a 
mission of reconciliation, 272. Is 
slain by the Sikh soldiers, 273. 

Somnath, the gates of; Runjeet Singh 
advocates their restoration, 201. and 
note. 

Soochet Singh enters Runjeet Singh’s 
service; his character, 182. His 
mortification at Heera Singh’s ele¬ 
vation to power, 264. Failure of his 
attempt at insurrection ; his death, 
266. Contentions concerning his 
buried treasure, 269, 270. and note. 
271. note. His estates taken by 
Golab Singh, 272. Ultimate dis¬ 
position of his treasure, 324. 

Sookerchukeeas, rank of the, among 
the Misls, 107. Their possessions, 
108. Their military strength, 109. 
They blockade Rhotas, 112. 

Sooltan Mahomed Khan succeeds Ya 
Mahomed; is defeated by Syed 
Ahmed Shah, 193. Regains Pesha- 
wur, 194. Attempts to open nego¬ 
tiations with the English, 212. He 
becomes a tributary of Runjeet 
Singh, 215. Is compelled to impri¬ 
son fugitives who seek his protection, 
236. His connection with the Jum- 
moo Rajas, 251. Intention of the 
Sikhs regarding him, 258. note. 

Sooruj Mull opposes Nujeebooddowla, 
and is slain, 102. 

Sree Chund founds the sect of Oo- 
dassees, 45. 

Steel an object of devotion amongst 
the Sikhs, 71. 104. 110. Rationale 
of the custom, 361. 

Steinbach, Lieut.-Col., rapid march 
performed by his Sikh regiment,217. 
note. His estimate of Runjeet 
Singh’s forces and revenue, 227. note. 
See also 236. note, and 237. note. 

Stirling, Mr., date of his residence in 
Afghanistan, 212. 

Subraon, plan of the Sikh position at, 
sent to Colonel Lawrence by the 
Sikh traitor Lai Singh, 299. note. 
Disgraceful compact of the Sikh 
chiefs regarding the contemplated 
battle, 317. Position and condition 
of the Sikh troops, 317,318. and note. 
Plan of attack on the part of the 
British, 319. Commencement of the 
fight, 320. The battle, ibid. In¬ 
domitable bearing of the Sikhs, 319*. 


Passage of the Sutlej, 320*. Loss 
in killed and wounded ; derivation 
of the word Subraon, ib. notes. Sub¬ 
mission of the Muharaja, 321. 

Sudda Kour, betroths her daughter 
to Runjeet Singh, 118. Her dis¬ 
sensions with him; he imprisons 
her, 162, 163. 179. Her trick upon 
him; her disappointment, 178. 

Sufaer Jung becomes alarmed at Meer 
Munnoo’s designs, 94. 

Sugar produced in the Punjab; its 
value, 3. 

Sunsar Chund joins Muha Singh ; 
becomes possessor of Kanggra, 118 . 
Corresponds with the English, 130. 
Is twice repulsed by Runjeet Singh, 
131. His collision with the Goorkhas, 

1 34. Is overthrown by them, 1 35. 
and note. Is foiled in his attempt to 
make use of Runjeet Singh, who 
imprisons his son, 148. Is called on 
by the English to attack the Goor¬ 
khas, 149, 150. note. Is alarmed by 
Runjeet Singh’s proceedings, 158. 
Consequences of his crossing the 
Sutlej, 160, 161. His death, 165. 
and note. Flight of his daughters 
and widow; death of the latter, 
and of Unrodh Chund, his son, 189. 

Surufraz Khan maintained in ltajen- 
poor by Runjeet Singh, 207. and 
note. 

Sutcha Padsha, signification of the 
term, 361. 

Sutlej, Races located near the, 7. 
Crossed by the Sikhs, 294. Its 
passage by the British troops, 320*. 

Suttee discountenanced by Ummer 
Das, 47. 386. Practised at Jowahir 
Singh’s obsequies, 280. 

Syed Ahmed Shah Ghazee, early his¬ 
tory of, 190. He preaches religious 
reform; his disciples, 190. and note. 
His pilgrimage; substantial devo¬ 
tion of his converts, 191. Effect ot 
his exhortations on the Delhi tailors, 
192. note. Attacks and is repulsed 
by a body of Sikhs, 192. Takes 
advantage of the report of an at¬ 
tempt to poison him, 192, 193. note. 
He takes Peshawur, 193. Decrease of 
his influence; gives umbrage to the 
Eusofzaees ; is surprised and slain, 
194. and note. 

Tailors of Delhi, effect of Syed Ah- 



472 


INDEX. 


med Shah’s exhortations on the, 
192. note. 

Tara Singh opposes and is overcome 
by George Thomas, 123. His death; 
heroism of his widow, 136. 

Tara Singh imposed as a son of Run- 
jeet Singh, 178. 

Taroo Singh, religious heroism of, 91, 
92. 

Tartars of Tibet, 5. 

Tegh Buhadur succeeds Ilurkishen; 
his claims disputed, 60. Anecdote of 
his accession, ib. note. His pilgrimage 
and return, 61. His predatory incur¬ 
sions ; Aurungzeb defeats him ; his 
injunction to his son, 62. Legend 
of his execution, 62, 63. note. His 
character and influence, 63. Reco¬ 
very of his remains, 64. and ?iote. 

Tej Singh made commander-in-chief, 
280. His treacherous design against 
the Sikh army, 292. 293, 299. and 
note. He deserts his troops on the 
field, 304. His apprehensions, 312. 
His troops recross the Sutlej, ibid. 
His position at Subraon, 318. His 
treachery at Subraon, 319*. His 

mercenary offer to, and rebuff by, 
the English, 324. 

Thanksgivings for victory, general im¬ 
propriety of, 307. note. 

Thomas, George, becomes an Indian 
adventurer; enters Begum Sumroo's 
employment; transfers his services 
to Sindhia, 122. Fortifies Hansee, 
casts artillery, and engages in hos¬ 
tilities with the Sikhs, 122, 123. 
His successes and reverses ; is de¬ 
feated ; his death, 124. 

Tibetans, characteristics of the, 16. 
Prevalence of polyandry amongst 
them, ib. and note. 

Time ; position assigned to it in some 
theological systems, 40. note. 

Tobacco proscribed among the Sikhs, 
363. 397. note. 

Tod’s “ Rajasthan.” See 7. note. 

Toorks, Toorkmuns; lasting impres¬ 
sion produced by their conquests, 5. 
Localities occupied by them, ib. 
Impulse derived by Mahometanism 
from their conversion, 29. 

Trade, obstacles to, in Sindh and Af¬ 
ghanistan, 234. 

Transmigration, the doctrine of, 23. 
note. Its merits discussed, 41. note. 
Sikh scriptural allusions to it, 381. | 


Treaties; Runjeet Singh and tnc 
East India Company (1806), 403. 
Runjeet Singh and the British 
Government (1809), 406. For the 
navigation of the Indus (1832), 411. 
(1834) 414. Runjeet Singh and 
Shah Shooja (1838), 417. Indus 
and Sutlej tolls (1839), 422, (1840) 
423. British Government and 
Dhuleep Singh (first Lahore treaty, 
1846), 428—433. Supplementary 

articles, 433—435. British Govern¬ 
ment and Golab Singh (1846), 
435—437. British Government 

and Dhuleep Singh (second Lahore 
treaty 1846), 437—442. See “ Pro¬ 
clamations.” 

Tytnoor, son of Ahmed Shah, appointed 
Governor of the Punjab, 96. His 
conflicts with the Sikhs, 97. He 
retakes Mooltan ; his death, 115. 

Ummer Das succeeds Unggud, 46. 
He disclaims the Oodassees, and 
discountenances Suttee, 47. His 
death, ib. Extent of his reforms, 87. 

Ummer Singh, of Putteala, created 
Muharaja by Ahmed Shah, 112. 
His territorial acquisitions, 115. 
Promises fealty to the Delhi court, 
116. His death, ib. 

Ummer Singh Thapa opposes Sunsar 
Chund, 134. Invests Kanggra, 135. 
and note. Is outwitted by Runjeet 
Singh, 148. Attempts to obtain 
English aid, 148, 149. The Goor- 
khas and the English at war, 149. 

Unggud; characteristic legend of his 
faith in Nanuk, who names him as 
his successor, 44, 45. His birth 
and death, 46. and note. 

Unrodh Chund, misfortunes and death 
of, 189. 

Uroras, the, 6. Those of the cities, 
8, 9. Their origin and relation to 
the Kshutrees, 345, 346. 

Uttur Singh Sindhanwala suggested as 
a husband for Chund Kdur, 238. 
He escapes from Lahore, 241. At¬ 
tempts to rouse the people in his 
behalf; fails and escapes, 263, 264. 
Renews his attempt, 266. Is slain, 
267. 

Uzeezooddeen becomes Runjeet Singh’s 
confidential adviser, 182. Assists in 
his sovereign’s conferences with Lord 
Auckland, 226. note. His cautious 



INDEX. 


473 


conduct, 243. note. His admission 
relative to the Punchayets, 246. note. 

Ventura, General, reaches Lahore, 
173. He aids in disciplining the 
Sikhs, 177. Obtains a celebrated 
horse for Runjeet Singh, 193. and 
note. Recaptures Hurrund, 195. 
note. Dispossesses Buhawul Khan 
of part of his territories, 199. Re¬ 
ceives a military command from Nao 
Nihal Singh, 235. His opinion on 
the cause of Nao Nihal’s death, 237. 
note. His estimate of Dhian Singh, 
252. note. 

Vikrumajeet; source of his title of Sa- 
karee, 20. note. 

Vishnoo made a type of the Deity by 
Ramancoj, 26. 

Vullubh, character of the teachings of, 
35. 

Vuzeerees, localities inhabited by the, 6. 

Wade,Captain (afterwards Sir Claude); 
note on his life of Runjeet Singh, 
131, 132. note. Appointed English 
agent at Lahore, 187, 188. He ne¬ 
gotiates a meeting between the Go¬ 
vernor-General and Runjeet Singh, 
195, 196. Explains to Runjeet 
Singh the object of Colonel Pot- 
tinger’s mission to Sindh, 198. Re¬ 
monstrates with Runjeet Singh, 210. 
His view of the designs of the 
French, 219. note. He accompanies 
Shazada Tymoor, 226. and note. 
Becomes obnoxious to Nao Nihal 
Singh; Runjeet Singh’s esteem for 
him, 230. Sikh insinuations against 
him, 231, 232. note. Resumes his 
duties at Loodiana; he is replaced 
by Mr. Clerk, 232, 233. He en¬ 
deavours to negotiate a tariff for the 
Punjab, 247. His estimate of Sikh 
prowess, 253. note. His observa¬ 
tion on the position of political re¬ 
presentatives, 287. note. 

“ Wall Goroo!” signification of the 
exclamation, 360. 

Wheeler, Colonel, 239. note. 

Whewell, Professor; contrast of his 
view of the value of the scientific 
labors of the Arabs with that of 
Humboldt, 31, 32. note. 


Whudnee; dissensions of Runjeet Singh 
and Sudda Kour regarding it, 162, 
163. 188. 

William the Fourth sends presents to 
Runjeet Singh, 196. 

Wilson (Professor H. H.), value of 
his researches into the history of 
the Hindoo sects, 25. note , 82. note. 
His view of the doctrines of Nanuk, 
354. 

Wuttoos, location of the, 7. 

Yar Mahomed Khan retakes Pesh- 
awur, 160. Becomes tributary to 
Runjeet Singh, 162. Offends Ma¬ 
homed Azeem Khan, 163. Is al¬ 
lowed to hold Peshawur, 164. His 
renewed protestations of allegiance, 
185. His agreement with the Eu- 
sofzaees; accused of an attempt to 
poison Syed Ahmed Shah, 192. Is 
attacked and slain, 193. 

Yog, nature of the doctrine so named, 
33. and note. 

Zabita Khan, aided by the Sikhs, be¬ 
sieges Delhi, 116. Adopts the Sikh 
costume, 117. His straitened po¬ 
sition, ib. 

Zorawur Singh reduces Ludakh to 
submission, 206. He takes Iskardo, 
247. His pretext for warring on 
the Tibetans, 248. He pursues his 
conquests; is stopped by English 
interference, 248, 249. He is de¬ 
feated and slain by the Lassa forces, 
250. 

Zukareea Khan succeeds Abdool Sum- 
mud, 90, 91. notes. Contest between 
his sons for the viceroyalty of La¬ 
hore, 92. 

Zuman, Shah, succeeds to the throne 
of Caubul; his designs; his bro¬ 
ther’s disloyalty, 119. His renewed 
attempts at conquest; cedes Lahore 
to Runjeet Singh, 120. Is deposed 
and blinded, 132. Visits Lahore; 
result of his son’s interview with 
Sir David Ochterloney, 153. and 
note. Is pensioned by the English, 
167. and note. Proceeds under con¬ 
voy with Major Broadfoot, 244. 


THE END. 




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